Of Spells and Curses
by AmIDelis
Summary: It was more than just waving a stick and saying a few funny words...Hogwarts AU. Various crossover. Review if interested.
1. Expectations

**Well, hello there, you guys! I'm...quite sorry that I've basically ignored this site for such a long time. I sometimes just lose motivation to write, and you know, you basically leave this place in favor of other things. Shit happens.**

 **But!...I've gotten lately the inspiration to write again. Not only am I invested in an original draft, I'm also invested in writing fanfic again. And this one is slightly inspired by those popular Hogwarts AU fics and art that float around the Internet. I thought what would it be if I did a crossover of my own with the characters that I like in a Hogwarts setting, and this came off. This is written purely for fun, so don't take it too seriously. ;)**

 **Every character that appears in this story belongs to their respective owners. I own nothing except a few minor characters here and there and the overall idea of crossing them over.**

 _Of Spells and Curses_

Chapter 1

The owl stood perched at the windowsill, staring back at him.

For a moment, Hiro didn't know what to do. He stood frozen in the threshold of his dormitory, staring more at the owl and wondering what would the animal do next.

The bird screeched at the boy and then stretched its wings, and before leaving in the same way that it entered, it left a letter on Hiro's bed.

Hiro jumped, as if he'd been scolded, and rushed towards his bed; attempting to grab the letter. A million thoughts swirled past his head, yet the one that stood out to him the most was a very simple one.

 _My birthday's in a week._ He would turn eleven years old. How could he had forgotten it? With Tadashi leaving every September and returning every June, carrying parchment rolls everywhere he went, talking to Aunt Cass and Hiro about vanishing cats and flying broomsticks, and how he promised Hiro he'd be there with him next September...

The boy jumped out of his room and went in search of his brother.

-TADASHI! TADASHI!- He screamed as he jumped down the stairs- The letter's arrived! The let...-

He paused as he saw his aunt at the table in the living room, immersed in a book. Aunt Cass raised her head at her nephew.

-Don't scream, darling, we're not deaf! Tadashi's at the garage if you're looking for him. I think he's busy fixing the bike, but I'm sure...-

He ran past his confused aunt and didn't stop until he stumbled onto the garage, where his older brother was occupied with their red bike. He didn't want to seem rude to Aunt Cass; in fact he would show her the letter afterwards, but he felt Tadashi would understand it more than her.

The elder boy looked at Hiro when he appeared beside him.

-Just in time, Hiro! I finished with the brakes and...- He paused as he laid eyes on the parchment in Hiro's hands. He stood silent for a minute, his mouth and eyes widening as he began to understand.

And he jumped over his little brother, squeezing Hiro and cutting off his breath.

-You did it! I can't believe it, it finally came! And for the longest time I thought it wouldn't come, and that I would have to accept you were a Squib...-

-I'll show you a squib, nerd! My punches can still hurt you!- The younger brother exclaimed, though he had a wide grin on his face. Tadashi's joy was contagious enough to make Hiro even more excited than he already was.

A sound was heard at the door, and Aunt Cass's figure appeared in it, carrying Mochi in her arms and looking at her nephews alarmed. The cat stared at her in annoyance, trying its best to free himself of her arms.

 _-_ What's with all the fuss? You boys sound like you won the lottery!

Tadashi gave a quick look at his aunt, and then his gaze returned to Hiro, his mind slowly figuring out her words, like a puzzle.

-What, you didn't tell her?

-Well, I felt like you should know first...

-Know what? Another fight with the bots?- Her Aunt titled her head slightly in Hiro's direction, attempting to get a confession out of him. Instead, Hiro gave her a grin and showed her the yellow parchment.

Her screams alarmed the cat in a way that Mochi ended up scratching her forearms, but Cass Hamada didn't care. She cried and bounced and fluttered all around her nephews while messing Hiro's hair.

-I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! My two boys, my two little wizards! Oh, Hiro, you too!

After much rejoicing and cheers, the Hamadas entered back into the house and sat down in the living room, ready to open and finally read Hiro's letter. His fingers nervously played with the seal wax before he opened the letter. Written in green ink in the outside of the parchment was this direction:

 _Mr. H. Hamada_

 _The left room on the upper floor_

 _The Lucky Cat Cafe, number 23,_

 _San Fransokyo_

-You gotta love these wizards, they're always all about the details, aren't they?- Aunt Cass commented, giggling a little to herself as she tapped the letter. -Your letter was just like this, Tadashi.

He had forgotten it, but now that his aunt mentioned it, Hiro did recall the day that Tadashi's letter had arrived; four summers ago, and it was in the same manner: a strange yellow envelope with very precise directions written over it. The Hamadas were worried of it at first, and thought it was a bad prank; that was their thought until more letters arrived, and the woman in the blue gown knocked at their door, and told them the truth.

-It's probably the same thing as mine. Come on, open it, it's not a Howler.- With his brother's reassuring smile, Hiro felt more confident and ripped open the envelope; revealing two pieces of parchment filled with green ink ready to be read. He decided to read first the letter on the right, and he read loudly.

- _Dear Mr. Hamada, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! -_ Tadashi and Aunt Cass cheered- Blah blah blah...The professors wait for you...Blah blah...School year starts the 1 of September...Prepare all your things...They'll be waiting for my owl?

Tadashi answered to his question quickly:

-Use Fujin for that. They want your reply, if you got the letter and if you wanna go to school.

Hiro stared amused at his brother at the last sentence. Why _wouldn't_ he go to school!? Ever since his brother has received his own letter Hiro was awaiting for the day he was allowed to go to that magical school, and be part of that world; besides just staring in amazement in the shops and at the train station while Tadashi was the only one allowed to say funny words and move around his wand.

Aunt Cass, who found herself filled with energy all of the sudden, rose from the couch and went straight to her room while directing her nephews.

-Well we better get ready! Send the reply right away and in an hour or so we're leaving for Diagon Alley.

Tadashi stared puzzled at his aunt for such direct orders.

-But wouldn't it be better to wait for a day? Diagon Alley is far from here, and it'd be better to organize and for Hiro to look at his supply list.

Aunt Cass came back into the room carrying a chocolate cookie in her hand and she munched on it as she replied: 

-Oh, well! It's late anyway, there'll be too much traffic to get over there. No, we better do something special for Hiro tonight. - She shrugged and then smiled widely at Hiro- What do you say we make an Ultra Buffet?

-An "All-you-can-eat-and-more" Buffet courtesy of the Lucky Cat?- The two boys' eyes glittered with enthusiasm at the prospect of eating all of their favorite dishes that night.

-Sure enough! It's a double celebration, boys! Not only is our little Hiro turning eleven, but now he'll be able to carry around a pointy wand and throw spells everywhere! - She finished the cookie and turned towards the kitchen- But if we're gonna eat big tonight you boys better start helping me.

Her nephews nodded, and Hiro began walking towards the kitchen, until he felt Tadashi's hand over his shoulder.

-You better write to them now. Use Fujin for it.-

Hiro understood immediately what his brother meant, and before his aunt took notice he dashed to Tadashi's room. In there, a beautiful grey owl stood a top a perch looking oddly at him, as if his sudden entrance into the room was unexpected.

-Good news, Fujin, I'm coming too. - The owl screeched and flew towards Hiro, excited to go out.

Hiro grabbed a paper and a pen that he found in Tadashi's desk and wrote a small letter towards the Hogwarts staff. He wasn't sure of what to write at first, if maybe they expected a courteous, long response (to make a good first impression) or something short that got to the point.

 _School hasn't started yet, they can't classify me by this note._ So he decided to go with the short answer telling them of how he already received the letter and soon enough he would be buying the school supplies.

After scribbling on the note he whistled and Fujin landed in front of him, the owl making soft noises as he tied the letter to its left talon.

-Send this to Hogwarts, they'll know what to do with it.- And Fujin, as if he had understood Hiro's comment, bit him softly on the knuckle and then flew by the window, leaving the same way the school owl did.

Hiro felt relaxed and very calm, and he thought it was bizarre his reaction. He had just been accepted into Hogwarts, he should be ecstatic! But after writing the letter, he just felt as if it was something very simple, something not worth fretting for, just a case of waiting...Waiting, and packing, and ordering things...

He heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Tadashi's figure in front of him; giving a smile to his little brother.

Hiro took out his letter again, and looked at second side of the page where there were more paragraphs he hadn't seen before. He looked at the text and the list below to understand that it was the school's supply list, and began reading out loud:

-I already sent Fujin, and here's a list of things I gotta have by tomorrow: herbs, books, my own wand...-He paused at that- And I can bring a pet if I want...

He stopped reading at his brother.

-Do you think it'd be okay to bring Mochi?

Tadashi paused to ponder his brother's question, and shook his head slightly before answering.

-We better leave Mochi here. Aunt Cass will feel a little lonely here once we leave, and Mochi could bring her company. She'll need that, squirt.

Hiro felt slightly red and turned; how could he be so careless as to forget about his aunt? No, Mochi was needed here more; Aunt Cass' happiness was more important than Hiro's wishes.

The boy looked again at his brother, and surprised he saw that Tadashi was grinning at him.

-But...You're getting a pet.-

-What, you're gonna lend me Fujin? Oh yeah, because that's totally _my_ pet.

-Fujin is useful, he can deliver mail and bring you packages.-He paused- Much more useful than a kitten, unless you really want a little baby to take care of...-

And he went and messed with Hiro's hair as the little brother playfully nudged him in the chest. It didn't hurt him at all (seeing how tall he was, it was impossible for him to be hurt); but it was one of the brothers' playful gestures they had between them.

-You better go to sleep early tonight. Tomorrow we'll be all day in Diagon Alley, and I don't want you to get up late and miss the ride!

-Look who's talking, you're such a heavy sleeper you carry around the sheets as clothes!

But Tadashi was right; going to Diagon Alley was a yearly activity that Hiro always looked forward to, and considering that now it was his time, he was more excited than usual.

And if he was more excited than usual, he would have a harder time conceiving sleep...And if he didn't conceive sleep he would find himself being so tired tomorrow morning...And yet, the night offered endless possibilities and thoughts that plagued his mind: what would be the core of his wand? How would the school uniform fit him? In what house would he be selected?

Many and more thoughts fluttered through his mind as he laid in bed and covered himself with the sheets; thinking that in a few months he wouldn't sleep on that bed for 9 consecutive months. The thought would have saddened in another situation... _But not now._


	2. Diagon Alley

The trip to Diagon Alley was shorter than Hiro had previously remembered. In the previous summers it was mostly a matter of the Hamadas arriving on time at the office, charging into the chimney with enough amount of Floo powder, and hoping to arrive at the proper chimney in the magical alley.

This year it was no different, but they found themselves with luck in the road due to the lack of traffic. Aunt Cass was happier about it than the boys, if they could deduce by the grin on her face and the struts she made while walking.

-You think this was something made by _them?_ It wouldn't be the first time...

-Aunt Cass, we're not THAT important for the Ministry to arrange the muggle traffic.

-Maybe they're doing it for you, Aunt Cass. Once we arrive there they'll greet you with flowers.- Hiro chuckled as his Aunt nudged him playfully on the shoulder.

-You two are a pair of jokers! I'm a little worried what will happen to the school once you two are there. You'll surely wreck the castle!

The family get teasing each other until they arrived at the Ministry's concealed offices, disguised as plain abandoned insurance offices. The muggles walking around the street paid them no attention as the three cautiously passed through the crystal doors.

Once inside, the look of decay and abandonment of the outside of the building changed to resemble a very lively office, filled with men and women in robes walking everywhere, owls fluttering around the ceiling, and large crystal chimneys, resembling evelators, stood along every corner of the walls, resembling pillars.

Tadashi looked around the masses of busy wizards until he found an empty cabin with a sign that read "USE OF FLOO NETWORK". A plump witch was sitting taking notes on an old yellow book when she turned to look at the three.

In these situations where the family needed to contact with the wizarding world, Tadashi was the one who was left to speak with the wizard; since he understood more about the subject at hand than Aunt Cass or Hiro.

But the two took mental notes whenever this occurred; for them to be prepared in any future situation where they would find themselves in need of contacting the wizarding world, and Tadashi wouldn't be around.

-Good day, three passages for Diagon Alley, please? For a round trip for today, please.

-Yeah, yeah, sure. Hogwarts I'm guessing? Buying the school supplies and all that?

-Yes.- Tadashi gave his most dashing smile, but that didn't seem to charm the witch. She looked bored as she flicked her wand; and three yellow tickets, alongside three emerald colored velvet pouches, appeared in front of each Hamada.

-That'll be 25 sickles and 3 knuts. - Tadashi and Aunt Cass looked in her bag, where she guarded the leather envelope where they held the money for the school and magical matters, and brought out a bunch of little bronze and silvery coins that were placed in the witch's palms.

After counting each coin separately the witch announced in a dry voice:

-The next chimney leaves in 10 minutes. Chose number 63, at the corner right. It'll lead you into Madame Malkin's.

-Thank you so much!- Tadashi flashed his winning smile one last time, but the witch just looked sourly at him. The Hamadas then left her booth to find Chimney 63 and wait until it was available to leave.

-They are very organized in this regard.- Aunt Cass commented after a moment, looking around her as the booths kept filling with clients and organized workers who attended to the witches and wizards who were arriving on the spot.

-Yeah, they like keeping control over these issues. I heard at the Ministry it's double the order and control, but i've never been there.

-But there are kids in the school who are the children of ministry workers, aren't they?- Hiro asked to his brother as they waited on the queue of the Chimney.

-Yeah, squirt, and you're gonna be best buddies with all of them.

Hiro just stuck his tongue out at Tadashi's quirky comment, and his brother just smirked back at him. Aunt Cass jumped suddenly and squealed, shocking the brothers for a moment.

-The Chimney's finally open!

And she was right, as the Chimney's doors slowly opened with a soft ringing sound and the color of the chimney turned from a dark red to a bright green. The Hamadas stood right outside the Chimney and began ordering themselves.

-Maybe we should go one on one, we'll all arrive to the same place and it'd be less dangerous than if we go together.

-Yes, I guess so. Hiro, sweetie, how about you go first?- She pushed Hiro softly towards the center of the chimney and he walked inside, holding the pouch containing the powder and feeling unsure.

-Just pronounce the words clear and correctly, and throw the powder towards the inside of the chimney, where the fire burns.- Tadashi instructed him as an aging wizard checked Hiro's ticket and pouch.

-It's alright, lad. Everything's in order, you can pass.- The controlling wizard smiled a toothless grin to Hiro as he gave him back the pouch.

-But what if I mess up?- The young Hamada looked over at his family as they smiled on him. He was acting a little silly, it was true, since it wasn't the first time he flew on Floo...And yet...

-Just go already!

Hiro just exhaled deeply and threw the powder into the growing fire.

-Diagon Alley, Madame Malkin's!

And in an instant, in a flash, in a moment where he felt he would puke and his head would roll off his shoulders; he coughed and fell down over an old wooden floor. He coughed and tried to get up as he heard footsteps near him, and a concerned voice asking him questions.

-...I should've placed the rug nearer to the fireplace, oh dear. I hope you're not too hurt...Maybe you'd like a cup of tea?

As Hiro stood up, he found his voice again as he slightly coughed and cleared his throat.

-I-is this Madame Malkin's?

-Why, yes, I'm Madame Malkin. -She gave him a wide smile- Oh, but this is young Hiro! It's so nice to see you again!

Now that his view was a little clearer, he could recognize Madame Malkin, the kind witch owner of the shop. He had visited the shop plenty of times before, to buy with Tadashi his school robes, and now it was his time.

-Hello Madame, it's good to see you too. My aunt and Tadashi are coming over in a few minutes and...

He couldn't say more as a loud thud behind him interrupted his comment, and the two turned to the figure covered in ashes on the floor, trying to get up. Hiro recognized his Aunt and went forward to help her.

-Hiro, is that you? I feel like I've bumped my head with a brick or something.

-Don't worry, Aunt Cass, we're here, we're...-

-Miss Hamada, it's so nice to see you again...-

Aunt Cass turned from her nephew to the voice of Madame Malkin, and loudly greeted the witch; telling her about the news.

-...Yes, it's school time again, and now it's Hiro's time as well! We couldn't be happier...-

And another loud thud was heard, and Tadashi appeared in front of the group, standing up and smiling towards the others. Hiro was envious of how his brother didn't fall at any moment during the journey, unlike him or Aunt Cass.

But after a few minutes, the Hamadas managed to clean themselves and walked from the upper floor in Madame Malkin's towards the first floor, where the clothes were found for them to look at.

Tadashi asked for a new robe, because the old one was small enough that it showed his bare ankles, and Madame Malkin spent a good time looking at Hiro and measuring him with a sewing tape that worked on its own, asking for his height and size and weight.

-It's first year, dearie, and you're so small...I'll make you some robes that'll last you for some years.

Hiro didn't mind, as he felt all the robes the witch gave him to try on were comfy and seemed to fit him well. Sometimes he looked distractedly at the grey ties, and wondered in what color would they turn to once he was selected: a golden red, a bronze blue, a dark yellow, or a silvery green?

He looked at Tadashi, who was checking out Hufflepuff colored robes, and wondered if his brother had spent a difficult time being selected.

But Tadashi was Tadashi. Knowing him, it would've been the easiest selection ever, seeing how charming he was and how easily people adored him.

Hiro just hoped his future would resemble Tadashi's.

Before buying the robes, they asked for Madame Malkin to guard for them; as they went towards Gringotts, the wizard's bank, to exchange muggle money for more wizarding money.

Afterwards, with Aunt Cass' bag tinkling loudly with every step she took, they returned to the dress shop and finally acquired the robes (alongside a beautiful lilac robe that Aunt Cass had fancied for herself), and afterwards they were able to follow the list and buy what was left.

As they passed through each shop, Hiro held the school parchment in his hands alongside his pen and crossed every item on the list that they purchased along the way. The robes at Madam Malkin's, the books at Flourish and Blotts, the potion ingredients at the drug store (where Aunt Cass bought a few special ingredients of her own, like dragon's liver; she later on admitted to Hiro that many of her special recipes at the Lucky Cat were made with magical ingredients).

Hiro was a little confused about it, and he decided to ask Tadashi about it when they paused for a moment to eat an ice-cream at the Fortescue parlor.

-Can muggles use magical artifacts?

-What do you mean by that?- Tadashi kept licking his blueberry and banana ice cream as he looked curiously at his little brother.

-Well, Aunt Cass told me...- He lowered his voice and signaled for his brother to get closer- That she uses stuff like dragon's liver and such in most of her recipes, in the Cafe...Like her Hot Wings have essence of salamander and…-

-Ah yeah! It's okay. She's been doing that for years. - Tadashi took a relaxed pose, and concentrated again on his ice cream- I help her from time to time.

It was a good thing that Tadashi had his attention on his ice-cream, otherwise he would've seen Hiro's shocked and disappointed face.

-You knew about it and you never told me that!?

-Yeah, it's not really that important. Things like wands explode on muggles' hands, but nothing really lethal occurs when they touch certain ingredients...As long as they know how to cook it and remove the poisonous parts.

-But you didn't tell me about it!

-You never asked.

-Hey, Tadashi! Tadashi! Over here!

A voice interrupted their conversation, and the two turned to see who was the person who called Tadashi. Hiro didn't see anyone he recognized, but Tadashi did, as evidenced by his wide smile.

-Fred!

Tadashi rose from his chair and walked to the left to greet a smiling boy of his same age. The two shook hands and the newcomer said something that made Tadashi laugh loudly.

-Dude, you didn't tell me you were coming over to Diagon Alley today! We could've planned it and meet up!

-Well we're already here so...- Tadashi shrugged at the indignant expression on his friend's face.

-But...Wait, is that Hiro? Dude!- The boy turned towards Hiro and planted his widened eyes over the young boy. Hiro felt a little awkward by being stared at by this kid; would Tadashi ever introduce him to Hiro?

As if he read his mind, Tadashi turned towards his brother and gestured for him to come closer.

-Hiro, this is Fred, a close friend at school. He's also a Hufflepuff in my year. Hiro's starting this year, Fred.-

The blonde kid nodded enthusiastically at Tadashi's words; without taking notice that the beanie crowning his head was about to fall off.

What Hiro noticed first about Fred was that he was incredibly thin and seemed to behave in a vague manner. While he was talkative and friendly, there were a few strange mannerisms he had that Hiro perceived to be a little strange.

-Tadashi's told me all about you, little dude! It's an honor to meet ya, Hiro. I'm hoping to see you around the school. - At that Fred started to mimic something resembling a bow, but it looked more like he was asking Hiro for a dance. The little boy chuckled at it.

-My dad came over and bought himself a Pygmy Puff from Wheezes. He thinks they bring good luck.

And he pointed to a corner of the ice cream parlor where an elderly funny looking man with glasses was talking excitedly with a woman.

-But you already own 3 puffs. Do you think you'll take care of another one?

-Definitely! -He nodded again- Dad thinks puffs have lucky properties, like _Felix Felicis_ , and he's planning for all our house to be filled with so many Puffs that we're protected next time another Dark Wizard plans to take us over.

-You really shouldn't laugh about that.- The elder Hamada vaguely commented as he went back to eating his ice cream, while having a calm expression on his face. Hiro turned his head from one boy to another, wondering what did he miss, what secret existed between these two and a so called "Dark Wizard"?

Before he could wander more into the insights of his mind, though, a voice broke the trio's attention.

-Fred! Look, they have bubblegum and hot dog flavored mix today! We better get it quick before it runs out!- The old funny looking man, whom Hiro assumed was Fred's father, called out to the young boy before turning towards the parlor, where the varied ice cream flavors were displayed.

-Well, we also got a lot of stuff to do today and the others haven't told me anything about meeting up, so I guess we'll write each other over the next months.

-Sure, take care dude.

-Same! And I can't wait to see you around, Hiro. Hope you join us in Hufflepuff!- And with that Fred waved at the two brothers and left in search of his father.

Hiro waved back at Fred, but he stood still in his seat as his aunt came back with a hot brownie in her hands. His mind went back to the issue of the houses and the sorting.

-Do you think i'd make a good Hufflepuff?

-Hufflepuff? You? Not a chance. You've got too much of a bad reputation, and we like hanging out with good guys.- His brother smirked. - However, Slytherin or Ravenclaw would fit you nicely.

-Oi, I'm a good boy! I'll show you, Mr. Perfect Badger.

-You boys finished with your ice cream? I think we should finish up for today. - Aunt Cass spoke to them as she finished her brownie and looked through the packages. -What do you miss, Hiro honey?

The little boy looked back at the list and his eyes focused on two things that weren't marked with a check.

-A pet...And a wand. - His eyes were glued to the last word, as he felt emotion was taking over his body. A wand...the one thing that would definitely mark him as a true wizard…

The two nodded, and decided to pass first through the Owl Emporium. A few minutes later, they came out of the dark store carrying a snow white owl inside a golden colored cage.

-So what'll you call her?

-...Yuki could be a good name.- He looked back at the snow white feathers of his owl, and he thought the name would be fitting.

-Thanks for the owl, I really wasn't expecting it!

-Think of it as a late birthday present, squirt, from me and Aunt Cass. - Tadashi commented as he passed a finger through Yuki's soft feathers, and the owl gave a soft screech.

Now, what was left was the wand. And there was only one place in all of Diagon Alley that sold the best wands around...Ollivander's.

The Hamadas had only entered in Ollivander's once, in the first time they visited Diagon Alley, to buy for Tadashi's school supplies. They hadn't returned since then, unless it was for small matters like Tadashi needing a wand polisher or something equally trivial.

No, today was an important day.

As the family (plus Yuki) entered into the old store, they couldn't help noticing that the wand shop had a very dusty, decaying look. It had always looked that way, but Hiro had a feeling that Mr. Ollivander liked to have this store in an unkempt state; in a way to give the store an identity of its own.

A sound came from a crooked door behind the counter; and a tall thin man stood there, staring at the Hamadas with glassy eyes. Tadashi turned towards him and gave a smile towards the eerie wizard.

-Mr. Ollivander! It's so good to see you.

-Mr. Hamada, it's very good to see you back again, and the lovely Miss Hamada, as well...And your young brother…-He paused as he turned his attention towards Hiro, and then back to Tadashi. - What will you need now, Mr. Hamada? A new polisher, or a new cloth to keep off the dust from your wand?

-No, nothing for me now. It's Hiro the one that needs a wand.

Mr. Ollivander walked slowly towards Hiro, inspecting every part of his body. Hiro felt as if he was being checked out for an examination, and by Ollivander's intimidating complexion the boy had the nagging feeling that he would fail the test.

-That's good news, very good news indeed, whenever a child is ready for their wand to chose them...I remember the first day you had come to this store, Mr. Hamada, and the wand that chose you as their user….Unicorn hair, 12 inches, aspen wood, quite swishy. A good wand for enchantments, very good indeed. I'm hoping you take good care of it…

-Oh, yes, certainly. I polished it a week ago.

-But I guess your brother would need something different…

Ollivander cleared his throat, and then walked behind the counter to search for something. As he looked in the drawers, he casually asked to Hiro: 

-With what hand do you usually hold your wand, Hiro?

-...I'm a lefty.- The boy wondered if you could consider valid the idea of holding a pencil on the same ground as holding a wand, he hoped for the best that Ollivander would, at least.

-...Good! Now, let's take a few notations here and there…- He took out a measuring tape and placed it on the top of Hiro's arm – Your arm length, your height and weight...You're unusually small for your age, Hiro, I hope you don't famish…

-Oh no, I love to eat...

-Tadashi was also small at that age, and now he's taller than me. I think it's just something natural for boys at that age. - Aunt Cass quipped, feeling a little insulted by Ollivander's insinuating comment.

-No worries, madam, no worries, it's just that the wand choses its user, and sometimes wands are picky: they'd prefer a taller wizard, or a smaller one, or one who is adept at certain spells over others…- Ollivander replied as he wrote down on a parchment a few more notes while looking at the measuring tape.

Once finished, the tape rolled on itself and dropped down to the floor, while Ollivander stood quiet studying his notes.

-Everything seems to be in order, Hiro. Now, here might be something that you might find apt…- He turned towards the piles of boxes that lay around his store, and returned to the front with a small bronze colored box that he placed on Hiro's hands – 10 inches, pine wood, phoenix feather, very flexible, this would be good.

As Hiro opened the box, he saw a small clear wand resting on top of a small pillow, and curiously took it in his hands. He looked down at the wand for a moment, feeling incredibly dumb, looking like a fool with a stick on his hand.

-Well don't just leave it there, squirt. Move it around!- Tadashi cheered on his brother as he watched, expecting for something interesting to come up.

Hiro just waved, and suddenly a loud crash was heard and a small explosion took place over millions of boxes. Aunt Cass jumped and Yuki screeched, and Hiro trembled and left the wand back in its box. Mr. Ollivander looked highly amused instead of angry; Hiro thought that was a strange reaction from a man to a dumb kid that just randomly blew up half of his products.

-Does this happen often, Hiro?

 _What does that even mean?_ Was Ollivander suggesting that Hiro spent most of his time blowing stuff up? Because if he was referring to the bots...Tadashi had told him of certain students who had... _problems_ controlling their powers, and had extracurricular classes with personal teachers to deal with the problem, but he hoped he wasn't one of those cases...Yet.

But the best thing to do at the moment would be to give a simple answer, and he did.

-No, not really. You mean, as in my magic comes out this way? -He tried remembering if he had any previous accidents that could be aligned to any magical explanation – No, not anything harmful anyway.

-That's perfectly normal, Hiro. I think this wand just wasn't the correct one...Let's see here…-And he brought forward another box.

They spent almost fifteen minutes like that, each wand giving a different but unsatisfying result: some wands didn't work, and others exploded in his hand, and one flew from his hand and almost took out one of Mr. Ollivander's eyes (but thankfully, it didn't).

Hiro was starting to get bored, until Ollivander returned with another box, and smirked to himself.

-You're a tricky one, but not an impossible case, Mr. Hamada. I do think this one will be the one…-He took out a small black wand – 13 inches, dragon heartstring, walnut wood, quite supple...Let's see how this works.

Hiro doubted his words, but after thinking for a few seconds he raised his hand again, and flickered the wand. A sudden shock took over him as he kept swishing the wand around, and a warmth suddenly took over his fingers holding the wood.

He twirled the wand more, and suddenly a few red sparks came out of the wand, though luckily they weren't exploding or harming anything in sight. Tadashi and Aunt Cass cheered, and Hiro couldn't help but smile when he saw Ollivander's approving glance.


	3. The king of dorks

**Well, like I said earlier, this is a crossover story, with the characters being set in the Harry Potter world. They'll mostly be Disney/Non-Disney characters, with a few Marvel characters snuck in there.**

The remaining months before the boys left for school passed quickly and without notice.

At first Hiro had been pretty impatient, spending hours locked up in his room reading his new books and attending to Yuki without talking to his family; but thanks to Tadashi's side glances and commentaries, one day he left his room and started helping out his family in other duties and chores; effectively cheering up Aunt Cass and his brother before the day of departure would come.

A new surprise awaited them before they could leave for Hogwarts, though: a small surprise that Tadashi had forgotten and yet he remembered suddenly; like a dream of long ago, when the owl on the windowsill brought him a package. A new surprise that caught the family unaware but then made them cheer and celebrate by eating Aunt Cass' blueberry cake.

Tadashi had been elected prefect.

It made sense, considering how applicant Tadashi was with his studies and how calm and collected he was, never getting in trouble or messing around; it was obvious the teachers took notice of him and elected him for prefect in his fifth year. They hoped he would bring a little bit of order to Hufflepuff house (which was an easy task, considering the Hufflepuffs were the least troublesome of the four houses; right next to the Ravenclaws, who spent much more of their time studying and analyzing than walking through the castle halls past the curfew or angering the ghosts).

And the day came that the woman and the two boys, alongside with a pair of trunks filled with their belongings and the two owls, strutted down King's Cross station. And like every year, they searched for platform 9 and ¾.

Hiro was used to seeing platform 9 and ¾, due to accompanying Tadashi in the previous years and knowing what pillar to phase through. But today was different, since he felt as if he had eaten butterflies for breakfast.

As the Hamadas passed through the stone pillar, they arrived to the platform that was invisible to muggle eyes. Hiro looked around, and he felt at home with the familiarity of the image presented on the platform: the red train glistening in the daylight, with smoke coming out of it; cats walking throughout the station, parents helping their children load their trunks into the wagons and saying their goodbyes…

Aunt Cass couldn't stop jumping up and down throughout the platform as the two brothers were busy searching for an open wagon for them to enter. Once they spotted one near the end of the train, they opted to load the trunks inside alongside the owls, with their aunt helping them.

Aunt Cass began sobbing as her nephews hopped on board the train and they looked at her through one of the windows.

-Promise me you two'll write to me...Things'll get very boring once I'm all alone in the house! Well, I'll still have Mochi, but it won't be the same thing...

-We'll send you owls every week, Aunt Cass.

-Or every day.

Aunt Cass took out a red handkerchief from her pockets and passed it over her eyes, attempting to dry her tears. Hiro could still see a trail of tears coming down his aunt's cheeks as she tried to hug them.

-I'm being so dramatic...Promise me you'll be good...Hiro, sweetie, please write to me once you're selected, I wanna know in what house you'll end up. Study a lot, make friends, have fun, don't get in trouble, read a lot, keep doing exercise, and eat well! Write to me if the food isn't good enough, maybe I can see to send you boys something via the owls…Maybe a few mochis and odangos I can make up at the moment...Or send you some snacks from the store...

Tadashi gave Aunt Cass a strong hug as she came closer to him, as if hoping that his hug would sooth her. And effectively, it did! Aunt Cass stopped tearing up and her sobs turned into chuckles as she rubbed Tadashi's hair.

Hiro felt that the previous butterflies inside his stomach were dying one by one as he saw Aunt Cass coming closer to kiss him, and it just occurred to him that he wouldn't see her for a long while. A very long while, more than he was used to.

The thought came down upon him like a rock, and it weighted down on him, but he wouldn't feel sad or cry, that was stupid. This was a _happy_ moment, after all.

This moving scene didn't go unnoticed, though, as two figures walked towards the train and witnessed the departure of the Hamadas.

An average Joe could take a simple look at them and guess that they had money, and Joe's assumption would be correct: from their elegant robes down to the intricate design of the trunk that belonged to the boy, everything about their presence suggested that they were royalty. Or at least, they _seemed_ to be.

The taller, older figure, whom we could assume was the father, curled his lips as he passed a bony hand over the boy's shoulders.

-Muggles. Hard to believe they're found even here.- He turned towards his son and gave him an expecting look, as if awaiting for his spawn to reply in agreement.

The boy looked down at his fingers, not wanting to really meet his father's eyes. He didn't feel like directly replying to him, but he was afraid of what his dad would do if Harry disagreed with him.

And yet, and yet...

-I don't think it's like you say it is. - He whispered to his knuckles, feeling as if they would understand him more than his father.

It took Norman a few fast seconds to understand his son's words, watching the words fly over them just like the steam of the school train above their heads. Then he gave a satisfied grin, like a tiger about to feast on the wounded deer.

-No?...Ah, your little friends. The two muggles who always get better grades than you do, right?

Harry's face reddened while he looked down to his feet. He whispered their names, more to reassure himself than to correct his father:

-Peter and Gwen.

-I'd like to meet them someday, if it's not too troublesome for them. - His father shrugged casually- It's certainly not a problem for me.

And he stared at Harry for a long while, inspecting every single part of the boy's body, and judging his son at the same time. His jade eyes landed on his son's own, and it was like staring at a mirror.

Harry would've replied to his father's comment, but the sound of a whistle blowing in the distance indicated it was time for the train to leave, and for children to accommodate themselves already inside it.

Harry got closer to the nearest wagon and loaded the trunk into it first, before he entered and spoke to his father via the open window next to the door.

-I'll be seeing you at Christmas, I suppose. - His father got closer and placed his hands inside his robe's pockets, staring down at the train.

-Yeah, sure...Suppose?

-Your headmaster has plans for Christmas this year. -Norman shrugged - He'll probably talk about it tonight. -He took a pause as the train was starting to catch speed – Just get out of trouble this year, son, and start improving on your grades for once.

And the last view he had of his father was his figure standing still amongst the fog in the platform as the train moved forward, leaving behind the parents and the holidays and moving forward to the school year.

Harry just grunted as he got away from the window and searched for a compartment. His dad would always do that; leave him with the last comment, disappearing without allowing Harry to reply at him. He wished he was as swift as his dad was. Then again, he wished for many things.

Well, there was no point in thinking about that now. It would be 9 months later until he saw his father again (unless Norman would pop up at the school to visit the staff in working terms, something he tended to do a lot), and he'd prefer to spend that time doing more productive things.

As he searched through the compartments for an empty one or at least for one filled with familiar faces, he passed through the corridors passing through many kids that were stuck in his same position, searching for somewhere to sit down. Harry thought it was gonna take him a while, until a familiar voice called for him.

-HARRY!- He turned around and saw a blonde running towards him, and he smiled widely as he laid eyes on her. She was the first person that day to genuinely make him happy.

-Gwen! It's good to see you!- The two kids hugged as the girl jumped towards him, engulfing him in a warm embrace.

-How was your summer? How've you been? The last letter you sent me was like a month ago!

The redhead gave his friend a sheepish grin. She was right in that he had forgotten about writing to her, but other issues had appeared in his life and taken all of his attention during the summer. He would remember for the next time to not be so careless.

-Sorry, I got distracted with other things that I forgot. But how was your summer?

-You got so distracted that you forgot about me? – She reprimanded him, but at the same time she gave him a teasing smile. – It was fine, a little boring at times, but MJ usually called me to stay with her and her family. I know she's been with Peter and Flash's gang a lot during the summer...

Harry grimaced and made a face when the girl spoke of the so-called "Flash".

-Why with them?

-You know MJ is friends with them.

-Flash is an assmunch. – She knew that, but he felt better saying it out loud. It was the truth, anyway.

-Eeh, at times. - She also made a face. – But his group isn't all that bad. Randy is cool, and I've spoken a few times with Liz and…

-Yeah, but then you've got Timmy and Albert and Craig and Bob, all the Flash wannabes.

-Really? Those assholes are wannabes? - Gwen raised an eyebrow at him, eyeing him for a moment. – Come on, let's get to a compartment already.

-You found one?

-Yep, all my stuff and the cat are there, along with Peter and MJ. They're waiting for us.

–-

The pair walked passing through the Hamadas, as the two brothers were lost in their own problems.

Hiro found almost every compartment full, and while he didn't want to appear nervous in front of Tadashi, the truth was that he didn't want to spend his first train ride on his own. He could always ask any of the kids on the compartments to make space for him, and he had passed a compartment filled with first years, among them kids with strange colored hair, who probably wouldn't have minded to sit with him...But he felt much better in the company of Tadashi than with strangers. 

His brother understood perfectly his feelings, and simply gave Hiro a re-assuring nod.

-You'll like it with the others, you already know Fred and I've told you about them before. You won't feel outcasted, squirt.

-Okay...But don't call me "squirt" in front of them 'kay? I don't wanna seem like a dork.

-You don't "seem" a dork, you're _the_ dork.

-Oi! Cut that out!- But the two just chuckled to each other and Tadashi gave Hiro a friendly punch on the shoulder. If anything, _both_ of them were huge nerds and dorks. Hiro couldn't imagine how such a dork like Tadashi ever managed to be a prefect.

They passed through most compartments until they found one where Tadashi exclaimed surprised, and he motioned for Hiro to enter alongside their equipment.

As the young boy entered into the room, he was greeted by loud and friendly voices. Most of the voices were directed at his brother, though.

-TADASHI! Just in time!

-It's so good to see you!

-Duuude, i've been waiting for this day since forever.

And as the teens grouped around Tadashi, Hiro found himself worming his way into the compartment without anyone paying close attention. While he arranged Yuki and his trunk among the other's personal stuff he could hear Tadashi's voice above the rest.

-...must stay for a few hours. They'll instruct us on what to do and probably let us inspect throughout the train if anything's wrong. I'll leave you with Hiro, you'll get along fine with him. - And he waved back at Hiro and left the compartment.

Hiro was confused by the sudden act of Tadashi leaving, until he remembered that as prefect he had to give certain order and had to patrol throughout the train. Well...It still left Hiro alone, anyway.

The other kids turned their attention towards him and as sudden as a breeze, they all started greeting him and clapping him on the back, like some deserving champion who returned home from the battlefield.

-Hiro, it's so nice to finally meet you! ...It's great to see you…Tadashi's told us all about you!- Was basically what their words sounded to him, as Hiro turned to get a closer look at them.

He saw two girls, a big guy and someone whom he already recognized.

-Fred! You're here!- The thin Hufflepuff boy just gave Hiro a lazy smile.

-Yeeah, lil' dude, I've been waiting to meet up again. - And he chuckled, still in a very lazy way. The short girl of the group gave him a concerned look before she turned towards Hiro.

-Still, it's nice to meet you. Tadashi's told us a lot about you.

-A lot? - Hiro just hoped he didn't talk to them about the squirts. - Yeah...He's also told me all about you guys. - Well, it was sorta true in a way.

-Hmm, Fred, Gogo, Wasabi, Honey…?

-Yeah, that's right! - The tall guy, whom Hiro assumed was Wasabi, gave him a friendly pat on the back. - Excited for the sorting, Hiro?

-...A little bit.

-So, Hiro, in what house will you get sorted into?- Fred asked as he took a cauldron cake from the table and began munching on it. Hiro just realized how hungry he was and he laid his eyes on the mountain of food that was on the table: cauldron cakes and pumpkin pastries and other delicious magical treats awaited him. Surely the trolley lady had already passed through the compartment.

Hiro just grabbed a chocolate frog as he answered the question.

-Well nothing's certain for now...I guess any house will be good.

Gogo, the girl with purple stripes on her hair, shook her head at his words; confusing the boy for a moment. Did he say something wrong?

-It depends on what do you value and what'll you like. Each house has its different traits and it values different characteristics. I'm in Gryffindor, and a big thing of being a Gryffindor is often willing to take risks, or as North says, "being bold".

-Ah, you're all in different houses? And I thought you were all in Hufflepuff.

-No, not at all. Tadashi and Fred are, but Gogo's in Gryffindor and Wasabi and I are Ravenclaws. - Honey commented while looking at Hiro through her wide glasses. And yet, Hiro found a troubling observation on her comment.

-And none of you guys are Slytherins.

-Eh, don't take that the wrong way. It's just a coincidence. We're not anti-Slytherin jackasses or anything like that. - Wasabi frowned – But there are a few Slytherin assholes.

-Just as there are asses in every house. - Honey added.

-In Gryffindor we call them our quidditch team. -Gogo commented, and paused – I happen to be a part of them.

-Duude, you're waay too harsh on your team. Just let it go, Gogo. - Fred seemed to still be in a daze, as he kept munching chocolate after chocolate and got his mouth messy in the process. Gogo turned to look at him and narrowed her eyes.

-You've spent the whole night eating candy again?

-Dude, you don't get it. When I get these crazy cravings I go out like a beast, and eat everything I see.

-Hey, Tanaka, ready to get together the team? - A voice broke the group's attention and all their heads turned towards the door. Awaiting them in the corridor was a silver haired boy who stared down at Gogo with impatience, tapping his foot on the floor and crossing his arms at the same time.

There was something in his eyes that Hiro didn't like, or maybe what set him off was the fact that Gogo gave him a deadly stare. Either way, he hoped the boy wouldn't be causing them trouble.

Gogo only said this:

-The year hasn't even started yet, Maximoff. Fuck off. - And she turned her attention towards her hair. The boy in the corridor just looked at her a few more seconds with a confused expression on his face, until he replied sharply.

-...I'll ask Merida then.

And he darted off.

Gogo was still busy playing with her hair, or checking inside her pocket, to notice Hiro's dumbfounded face.

-He's in the team, too. He's the best at what he does, though he's such an ass sometimes.

-Well why don't you call a replacement?

-I already told you, Hiro: he's the seeker, and he's the best at it. I don't want to kick him out and replace him with a mediocre kid in his place. And we're already struggling as it is…

As Hiro lounged back in his seat, he thought that the more he got into the wizarding world, the more confusing it was. It just wasn't the same thing Tadashi telling him than him experiencing it live...He just wondered what many more surprises awaited him that day.

–

Wanda was deeply concentrated on the leather bound book that rested in her hands. She tried to stay awake last night to finish reading it, but then sleep took over her and she eventually gave up. She didn't manage to sleep enough hours, though, as she felt tired with every small activity she made.

She held up a yawn, and looked towards the door of her compartment as a familiar figure entered through it.

-Just finished talking with Dunbroch. She'll tell the others for a reunion to talk about this year's practices.

-Isn't it a little too early to discuss Quidditch? The school year hasn't even started yet.

-You sounded just like Tanaka...Anyway we must get ready in time! We don't want the Slytherins to kick our ass this year just like last time.

Wanda raised her eyebrows at her brother and gave him a quizzical look, as she tucked away a curly strand of her hair that appeared in front of her.

- _We_ kicked your asses last year?

-Well not you of course, but the team totally gave us a spanking. Dunbroch wasn't ready that day and I got a cold and…

-I get it, Pietro, I get it. - She loved his enthusiasm for the sport, she really did, but sometimes the obsession got the best of him.

Just then he realized something was missing in the compartment and he looked again at her.

-And Lorna?

-I let her out. She was getting bored so she went off exploring. I think she's hanging out with other first years.

-But what if she gets lost or gets in trouble?

-What kind of trouble?

-Dunno she opens a window and gets out and…-He shut up as he noticed the unamused stare his sister was giving.

-You should write a book with that type of imagination you have.

But she wasn't annoyed at him, and she made him know that by giving Pietro another smile.

-In what house do you think she'll get sorted into?

-Whichever it is, she'll make the best out of it.

She went back to her book as Pietro sat down in front of her and began pondering, all the while not taking his eyes off Wanda.

After a few minutes of silence, he talked again.

-Do you think there'll be anything new this year?-

Wanda raised her head from her reading for a minute to look at her twin, and pondered at his question. Pietro usually was the most out-spoken of the two, while Wanda tended to think her questions before answering; but at times Pietro did come up with a clever retort every now and then.

-Well, there's our limited number of courses now due to the NEWT results...What do you mean exactly? Like, what's "new"? A new course, a new teacher...

He shrugged as he placed his legs over the two seats next to him, occupying all the space on his side of the compartment.

-Anything new really. Maybe ol' Jafar died in the summer, we all know his course is jinxed. Or maybe there's a new beast that Ralph brought over and is hiding in the castle; it'd be fun to see a first year finding it in a corridor or something.

He chuckled at his own words, and gestured for his sister to follow the joke. But Wanda just looked at him for a minute and then went back to her book, as she replied.

-You know those are just rumors, there's no actual "evidence" for Defense to be cursed. And I know Ralph is careless, but do you really think he'd hide a wild animal in a castle full of nervous children who can't control magic?

-It was just a thought. Jafar's a butthole anyway.

-You're starting to talk like a first year, that's really mature.

-And who said only kids can say "butthole"?- He paused as he passed his glance from his sister to his shoes- Pass me one of those pumpkin pastries, I'm starving.

-You already ate nine cauldron cakes, Pietro.

-Yeah, but I'm always hungry. -He got up and took one of the pastries himself, but in the way back to his seat he accidentally tripped with Wanda's feet and made the two of them fall down. She gasped as she tried to get back up, and he was holding her upper arm.

She gave him a look that read " _not now, not here,_ _you know better than this"_ and he simply had to resign to her wishes. _Though she hates it as much as I do_.


	4. The Hat knows best

Once all the students had changed into their school robes, and the Hogwarts express started to slow down, was when Hiro knew that they had finally arrived at Hogwarts.

 _Finally!_ Though the journey had been pleasant (meeting all the new kids and tasting those magical treats was certainly a fun experience), he had been waiting for this moment to happen. The moment in which he would be officially declared a Hogwarts student.

As the train stopped entirely and the children left the compartments in groups, Hiro went following the group not fully understanding some of the rules.

-So why do I have to leave the stuff in the train, again?

-Don't worry Hiro, they school will bring it up for you. This night as you go to sleep in your new warm bed you'll see your stuff right at your feet. -Wasabi calmly explained as he gave a third knot to his blue tie.

-Dudees, you think Maximoff went off to talk with Merida?

-Knowing him, he probably went through all the express trying to talk to every member of the team. -Gogo replied to Fred's doubts – He's done that before.

-Aaaaaah maaan, I can totally see that. - Fred tripped as the group left the train and walked straight out into the Hogsmeade station, filled with screaming excited students and howling pets.

Hiro was following his new friends when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see a smiling Tadashi, already dressed in his school robes.

-Nope, squirt, first years have to go that way.

-Why?

-It's a surprise you dork. -He winked at his brother – You follow the left, and stop when you see a huge guy in overalls. He's Ralph. Listen to him on everything he says and you'll be okay. We'll see each other again at the feast, don't worry!

Hiro just nodded awkwardly and turned away from his friends as they gave him encouraging words, and walked towards the way that Tadashi had directed him. He noticed that many first years just like him were following the same road. Many of them looked scared, others nervous, others very excited. The children walked in a line until they stopped at a certain line, and a gigantic man caught their surprise.

-First years, all of you first years? IS ANYONE MISSING? NO? Good, follow me then! - The giant carried a lamp post in one hand and gestured with the other for the children to follow his lead. Hiro looked at his face again and noted how he seemed to have a jolly face, a trusting face, a face one could have pleasant conversations with over snacks and drinks. Hiro didn't know why he was afraid earlier of him, and followed him with determination.

The group walked until they arrived to what seemed like the surface of an enormous deep lake, and many of the kids gasped when they saw small boats hauntingly arrive to shore; all of them ready to take them in.

-Alright then, two per boat, don't be picky. There's room for all.

Hiro chose the boat that was closest to him, and incidentally he bumped with a small girl who had picked on the same boat.

-Oi, be careful! You're gonna trip it!

-There's room for both of us, Ralph just said it! Didn't you listen?

-Oh don't be such a nerd! -And the girl mockingly showed her tongue at him; Hiro could make out the gaping that was between her front teeth. She also had many accessories in her dark hair, that she held up in a ponytail.

The young boy thought it'd be better to get along with her than fight, so he just simply sat on the boat with her and waited for the next command. He would have tried to row the boat, but he didn't know where to go and there were no oars for him to even stir the boat.

In the darkness, Ralph's loud voice was heard clear.

-All aboard? All of you have your boats already? Don't worry if you find something moving in the water, that's Squiddy just wanting to grab your attention….Fine, are all of you ready? Then ONWARDS! 

As if on command, the boats slowly started stirring, and they moved towards the front in an organized manner. They further they moved, they more they seem to immerse themselves in the darkness of the night and the lake, until at a certain point where they turned to the left and showed a new view.

An antique castle, medieval by its architecture if Hiro could judge, stood atop a mountain looking down at the lake and at the children in the boats. Many small lights came from many parts of the castle, and Hiro imagined they were the lights of the rooms inside coming out from the windows.

Many kids gasped, others cried in admiration or surprise. Hiro just gulped as he felt a smile was slowly creeping up his face; whatever would happen from now on, it would definitely be a new aspect of his life.

The boats arrived to the opposite shore, and they immediately leapt off them to walk towards a set of staircases that were carved in a part of the rock, directing them upwards towards the castle. Ralph went first, and the children followed his lead until they reached the top where a pair of long ironwood doors stood in front of them.

The majestic doors suddenly opened, and a woman came out of them. The woman strutted down towards Ralph and gave him a small smile.

-Just in time, Ralph. Neither too late or too early. As it should be.

-I just did what I could, Professor Poppins. Now I leave you the little ones.

-Sure, you go on first. - The lady then looked at the children, and in Hiro's mind she seemed to be inspecting each and every one of them, judging to see if they were fit to enter into the castle. Her eyes paused a moment on a girl's green highlighted hair, and on Hiro's boat partner's hair accessories, and she seemed to view them with discontent.

With a wave of her head, she turned upwards and the children mimicked to follow her inside the castle.

Once they were inside the stone walls Hiro could take a more detailed view of the castle: it was very wide, and brightly lit, and to his surprise it wasn't cold, as he expected wide open castles to be. _If it's warm that's due to the magic._ Everything worked based on magic on this place, he should get used to that premise.

The raven-haired teacher conducted the children to a small room, where they awaited for further instructions.

The elegant woman turned once again towards them and ordered them in a clear, polite but commanding voice.

-In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and enter into the Great Hall. The rest of the faculty will be waiting for you and your Sorting. - And she turned, leaving them behind.

He just remembered now who was this woman, and he felt stupid for it, seeing how Tadashi often spoke of her: it was Professor Poppins, the Charms teacher and Head of Hufflepuff house. According to Tadashi, Professor Poppins was often reliable and likable, but also very stern and fair; she didn't like being biased when it came to punishing students.

He remembered how nervous he had felt on the train, and now those nerves seemed to come back to him in full force. It was stupid to get nervous about something like this, but in a way, they were feelings he couldn't get rid of.

The other kids seemed to be as nervous as he was, as once the teacher left they started whispering nonstop and glanced nervously around.

-I heard it's some sort of task, that it's very hurtful and if you fail you'll be sent back home…

-But what if I'm selected in the wrong house? What If I don't fit into any house? - The green haired girl spoke loudly at no one in particular, but her feelings were echoed throughout the chamber.

After a few more minutes of anticipation, the doors finally opened, with Professor Poppins standing between them,; and she signaled for the children to pass through. The students walked in a line and entered into the Great Hall.

Hiro could have described the Great Hall in a few words, and the first one that came to his mind was _whoa._

It was wide, very wide; and big, probably as big as platform 9 and 3/4, and it was filled with many students sitting in four long tables across the hall. Hiro tried to search for his brother, but he found it an impossible task; it was hard to make apart between the students all dressed in black. He just hoped Tadashi was looking at him, at least.

Professor Poppins walked in front of the dais that held what Hiro believed was the staff, filled with teachers and professors and the like; and she put in front of the dais for everyone to see a small stool with a black hat sitting on it.

Hiro wondered what exactly would they do with the Hat, considering the fact that It seemed to be quite an ordinary hat, not a special or magical hat that would conjure up spells at the spot.

Suddenly, the hat stirred, and its pointy end stood up, and its edges opened up to form a mouth. And in a loud, booming voice, he proclaimed.

 _Oh, you might think i'm not too pretty_

 _Or that you would never in your long life_

 _Wear me in your head_

 _Yet hear me well_

 _Since in what I lack of beauty,_

 _I make up for it in counsel_

 _Maybe following my words_

 _You might find yourself in your new home_

The hat went on like that for a few minutes, singing and attempting to rhyme as he listed the positive attributes of each house. Hiro paid close attention, even if he knew by heart already what each House looked forward in each student: _courage, loyalty, creativity, ambition_.

Those were good traits, he believed, and he wondered what would the hat do if he found himself with a student that filled all the requisites.

 _They'd probably throw him out of the school._ For some reason he wanted to laugh, but he resisted the urges. He wouldn't make an ass out of himself right there in front of a public like the Hogwarts alumni.

The hat finished his song, and everybody applauded him on the spot. The hat seemed to mimic a bow, as it turned over the stool and bowed towards each table and to the dais. Then he stood still once again.

-Now, when I'll call your name, you will sit and try on the Hat. - Professor Poppins declared as she held the hat in one hand and a long parchment in the other. Immediately she started calling people.

Hiro just stood and watched; as Anders, Marianne went to Ravenclaw, Evans, Tobias went to Hufflepuff, and that's how the list went on for the longest time.

The student sat on the stool, the hat pondered for a few moments (or depending on the student, he would do it on the spot) and then shouted the house name, as the students of that house cheered for their newest member being added to them. The child would then run to the house as the older kids and the ghosts of the house congratulated them.

-Dane, Lorna!

The girl with green highlights who had been so anxious in the previous chamber jumped at her name being mentioned, and she walked quickly towards the stool. Hiro noticed that in the crowd of students there were two that paid close attention to this girl; one of them he recognized as being the silver haired boy that bothered Gogo on the train.

And following the table in where he was sitting, he looked and looked until he spotted a purple streaked head among the sea of black robes: Gogo was giving a small smile and waving at him. Hiro waved back in return. The nervousness seemed to calm down once he spotted a familiar face amongst the sea of strangers.

After a few minutes, the hat cried.

-GRYFFINDOR!

The table on the left cheered in victory, and the silver haired boy ran towards the dais and held the smiling girl in his arms. He didn't seem to care that he was attracting a lot of attention and laughs from the audience, and didn't leave with the girl until Professor Poppins ordered him to.

Hiro turned to see the Gryffindor table welcome Lorna Dane with open arms and laugh openly in the boy's face. He didn't seem to mind it, as he had his attention focused entirely on Lorna.

They kept naming other children, until it came the moment of truth.

-Hamada, Hiro!

He gulped, and trying his best to ignore all the stares he was being given, he walked slowly towards the stool.

The witch placed the old haggard hat on Hiro's head, and suddenly his world turned black. As Hiro waited for an answer, he heard a small voice muttering close to him, as if it wanted nobody else but Hiro to listen to it.

 _Hmm, interesting! Very interesting indeed. I see ambition, a bit of cunning, not afraid of hard work, enough nerve...Oh yes, what a brain too! You'd be the envy of the most academic Ravenclaws in this school, that's certain._

 _-_ Hum, have you finished your monologue? - He didn't want to seem rude, but something told him this hat wouldn't be happy until he finished talking about everything.

- _My are you cocky_... _A Hamada, eh? I met your brother four years ago. Good lad, placed him in Hufflepuff, and I think he excelled there. But you...You seem different from him, maybe Hufflepuff wouldn't be the correct choice for you...What would you like?_

 _-_...Just anything, really.

- _Then I know exactly where to put you…-_ The hat said in haughty tone, and Hiro believed the Hat was smirking at the moment.

-SLYTHERIN!

It took him a few moments to understand what had happened, as the Professor took off the hat from his head and he heard the cheering of the students. He walked towards the table on the far right as he was trying to process what just happened, he had been selected, it had been a good selection! He was a Slytherin!

He sat down in the table where silver and green were the dominant colors alongside black. The students and ghosts cheered on him and he grinned at them all, without realizing a mayor mistake.

 _I don't know anyone on this table._ Sure, he could make out a few faces, like the girl who paid close attention to Lorna Dane's selection or the boy he had passed by at the train, but he didn't know how to start fully a conversation now.

Meanwhile, while he was pondering about his sudden loneliness, other children had been selected. Overland, Jackson had been added onto Slytherin, alongside with a few others. The selection finally ended with the girl with strange hair accessories, Vanellope Von Schweetz, being added to the Gryffindor table.

Once she was selected, Professor Poppins carried the hat and the stool away. As she did, a professor on the dais got up, and gestured for the students to do the same.

Based on his looks, Hiro believed he might have been the Headmaster, based on his wardrobe. He had long dark blue robes and a pointy hat on top of his head, that was dark blue speckled with big stars and half moons. Aside from that, he had a long grey beard that grew down to his chest, and big eyebrows that made him look intimidating.

Yet when he spoke, he didn't seem to be intimidating at all, but rather polite and welcoming.

-I think we all have something in mind right now, and the only thing I'll say to that is: BON APETIT!

And suddenly, as if on command, the empty tables filled themselves with plates filled with so many different types of food Hiro was sure this was an example of heaven: meat pies, salads, fried chicken, steamed chicken, meat balls, pasta, onigiri and others were a few samples of what his eyes spotted amidst all the glory.

Hiro had never felt hungrier in all his life, so to not seem picky, he choose a little bit of everything, and munched down on it.

The opening feast was definitely one of Gwen's favorite activities that the school did. True, they had these type of feasts most of the time- during Halloween, Christmas, Easter and other festivities- but she felt the opening feast was always something new and different each year; from seeing new faces and old ones, to hearing about what happened over the summer, it was always a new experience that she looked forward to.

She looked towards the other tables, and managed to catch a glimpse of each of her close friends; she saw Mary Jane giggling with her group of girl friends by the Hufflepuff table, Peter eating on his own on the Gryffindor table (and trying his best to not accidentally throw the cutlery to the floor), while Harry was listening to the other Slytherins talk about something.

Peter was the only one who caught her eye, and he gave her a timid hand shake which she gave back. And then after he finished waving, he accidentally sent his spoon flying off. She giggled as he went down the table trying to retrieve the spoon.

Peter was kind of a dork, but there was something very sweet about him. Either it was his wit or his quick tongue that did the trick; that once you got to know Peter well you'd find he was a very funny boy to be around with.

Or at least, she believed that. And Harry did too. And Mary Jane…

 _No wonder Flash calls us the geeks._

She turned towards her own table and saw a few of her comrade Ravenclaws enjoying their meal. She felt secure at turning and seeing their familiar faces, from the two golden girls of Ravenclaw, Odette and Yumyum, to the nerds like Wasabi and Honey (why were they called that anyway?), to the quiet, elder girl with pale hair who always stood on her own.

And even if then, there was something in her mind that bothered her, that had sprouted out when the selection started, and couldn't leave her until now.

-Last year there seemed to be more students.- Gwen observed as the other girls around her served themselves more of the desserts around their table that had just appeared to replace the main plates.

-Well, it's not surprising, after what happened with the Ministry over the summer. - Odette said as she turned her head towards the girl, her eyes shining with the light of the candles flickering over them. Yumyum nodded as she turned towards the blonde Gwen.

Odette and Yumyum were called the Golden Girls because they were easily some of the top students at the school: not only were they very talented in magic and managed to get good grades, but they were also pretty friendly and popular with the other houses. Some people called them "princesses" as an endearing term, and the monicker seemed to have stuck with them.

Gwen understood what she meant, and she nodded at them instead of replying: the scandal at the Ministry with the rumors of the forbidden affair with madame Ursula headlined all the editions of the Daily Prophet that she read that summer. _Jameson sure likes the juicier parts of the story._

Sure enough, that scandal threw off many parents; that wondered if it was a good idea to keep their children in the company of this woman, who had plans of working at the school in the future.

 _Yen Sid would_ _never_ _allow her tho._ Despite his oddball traits every now and then, Yen Sid was a smart man that wouldn't allow outside influences to deteriorate his school. Or at least, she hoped he wouldn't succumb to the temptation.

Back at the Slytherin table, Hiro was having a good time. Sure, he was still a little quiet and mostly observed rather than commented, but he was still enjoying his time there.

Once the main plates left there was room for dessert, and there were many things to choose from: chocolate cake, blueberry pie, ice cream, mochi (his heart jumped when he saw them) ...His favorite at the moment was a strawberry cake that closely resembled the one Aunt Cass did back at home. Feeling homesick, he grabbed a small piece and began munching on it. He wondered if Tadashi was also enjoying his piece of cake at the Hufflepuff table.

After a few minutes, the tables were emptied and Yen Sid the headmaster stood up from the table, and motioned for the students to follow his lead. After all of them got up, he announced with a grave voice:

-Well, now that we're well fed, I think it's the proper moment for me to speak of a few things with you kids.

-First of all, welcome to Hogwarts! I give a warm welcome to all the new students, and to all of the old students, I give them the same old welcome of always.

-I'm hoping that you first years will find yourselves at home in Hogwarts. Though at times things might go crazy, in general we try to make this a good place to live and have fun, and of course, _study._

He seemed to carry a mischievous glance in his stare when he paused at those words, and his eyes laid on the Gryffindor table for a moment. A few of the students chuckled while Professor Poppins rolled her eyes.

-I'll have to give you a few instructions as well, for you to know how is discipline handled at Hogwarts. Professor Tentacles kindly asked me to remember you that doing magic outside classes is against the rules, and fighting in any way is forbidden. Students are not allowed to patrol around the castle after 12 pm. Joke products bought in Wizard Wheezes will also be upon further investigation if one of the prefects finds a child in the possession of a deadly fanged frisbee.

At that Hiro turned his head towards the Hufflepuff table, and saw Tadashi smirking to himself.

-Mr. Ralph and Professor North may aid with any problem or doubt you might have concerning magical creatures. If your owl, cat or other familiar is ill, simply talk to either of them and they might see to cure your pet.

-Visits to Hogsmeade will be done every end of the month. If you want to know more details about these trips ask to your head of house; just remember that you have to have a signed permission from your parents or guardian to be allowed on these journeys. Otherwise you will be forbidden from leaving the castle grounds.

-Quidditch practices will begin in two weeks, and we'll ask for the members of previous teams to reorganize. Anyone interested in joining the teams this year can simply sign up and ask for the team captain of their house. And of course, I'll have to repeat that first years aren't allowed to join the teams. We'd prefer training you first before sending you straight to the slaughter. - He smiled at his own words.

Hiro wondered what would Gogo and the Maximoff boy think of that.

-And finally, I'm honored to present to you some good news. After the departure of our dear Professor Williams, who's retired off to the countryside, I am glad to present to you our new Divinations Teacher, one of our previous top students. Say hello to Professor Schmendrick!

He pointed towards the left of the dais, where a teacher dressed in blue robes stood up. Hiro thought he looked very young, incredibly thin, and a little lanky, and he seemed to wobble a bit as he got up; but he gave a sheepish smile as the students cheered for him (the Ravenclaws in particular). He reminded Hiro for some reason of a scarecrow, but he couldn't pinpoint why exactly.

Still, he applauded and cheered for the new professor, hoping the best for him (and hoping he would stay long enough so he could start teaching Hiro in his third year!).

Yen Sid continued after the applause.

-And...Oh, I forgot what I was going to say.

Many students in the hall chuckled at the headmaster's words.

-Well, I think that's enough for tonight. Later on we'll speak of any other matters. So for now, goodnight and sleep well! Must be well rested for tomorrow's classes.

 _Hmm, he didn't speak of that Christmas business that Dad told me_. Perhaps his dad was lying, as Harry knew he was prone to do, but still…

The students left in ordered lines following the prefects as they emptied the Great Hall and went towards their dormitories. Hiro took advantage of that and walked towards the Hufflepuffs, as they were leaving the table.

As he passed by the Gryffindor table he spotted Lorna Dane being hugged by that brunette girl he saw at the Slytherin table, as Pietro Maximoff stood alongside them. The image of the three managed to make him smile, for some reason.

-So, squirt, how was your first night with the snakes?- Tadashi greeted him with those words as he tussled his hair.

-Overall nice, they didn't bite me or poisoned me.

-Just wait to meet Tentacles or Jafar then, they'll surely leave a bad impression on you.

As the rest of the students left the Great Hall, the girl in the Ravenclaw table stood up and walked slowly towards the dais, attempting to reach Professor Schmendrick. He was still getting up and ordering his robes, before he noticed her, slightly staggered and a wide grin appeared brightening his face.

-I knew you'd be here.

-You didn't tell me anything about this. - She said in a soft tone, and stared at him with those wide eyes she had. He chuckled as he touched his arm.

-I wanted it to be a surprise, I just hope you didn't take this the wrong way.

-Not at all, I'm actually very happy for you. - And she smiled, a genuine sweet smile that took him by surprise – It's what you always wanted, isn't it? Are you happy?

-Well, people never know when they're happy, but I think I am.

-Have you told Molly yet?

-No, not really. I wanted to keep it a surprise to her, as well. - He paused – How about when we go to Hogsmeade later on, we tell her?

-That would be fantastic. - Her eyes turned down to look at her skinny arms – I've missed her this summer.

And she raised her arm, and delicately laid her hand on his shoulder. He shuddered at her touch, and was surprised at what was happening. It was very unusual for his friend to be this comforting around touching others.

Before Amalthea would shudder at someone coming over and hugging her; and yet here she was, casually placing her arm on his shoulder, seeming to be very comfortable with this.

Yet her sweet eyes seemed genuine, and this action seemed to be a true display of her feelings. Nothing false at all.

The four houses had left the Great Hall at around the same time, and then diverted in different directions in the main corridor. The Gryffindors went upstairs to the east, the Ravenclaws to the west, and the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs walked downwards.

The twins diverted from the other students and walked casually until they entered into a secret room hidden behind a tapestry. They weren't thinking of doing this so soon, but the news of Lorna entering had excited them enough to try this little excitement trip. After all, they hadn't been caught yet, and they hoped they'd never be.

-You must be happy now, she'll be like your lion cub to protect. -

-Would she have been better if she had been in your house?

-We'll never know now, will we? - And she got so close to him, that he swore they exchanged breaths in that moment. Brown eyes landed on icy blue ones...

They always manage to make the rooms seem cleaner than they are.


	5. Howlers and breakfast

Well, Wasabi was right in one aspect: Hiro didn't need to worry about his belongings, since they had been placed in his new room in the Slytherin bed chambers. Yuki and his trunk were there, at the feet of his new bed, awaiting for him.

Once he entered into the room, he ran towards the owl and caressed her feathers as she shrieked tenderly for him. After that, she left the room via the window, troubling Hiro with that action. Where would she go?

-Don't worry, she's off to the rookery. - Danny commented, answering Hiro's doubts. He recalled Danny in in the Slytherin table and assumed he'd be his roommate, sorta like how Jackson Overland was also with them.

-The rookery?

-Yeah, all the birds and owls here live there. You can always pass over there and send any letter you want, with your owl or any of the school's.

The rookery sounded like a good and practical place for Yuki to reside in, so Hiro stopped worrying for his owl as he opened his trunk and began changing clothes. He felt full, if he was being honest with himself, full and tired and wanting to sleep more than anything.

After he he changed and readied himself he jumped into the bed and covered himself with the soft emerald sheets. They were warm and cozy, and incredibly soft. He would sleep tightly tonight…

... _And all nights to come._

The wakening took Hiro by surprise. He dreamt a good dream; where he was back at home, eating one of Aunt Cass' specialties, until Tadashi broke into the room...

And somebody knocked at the door.

-Wake up Hiro! You're gonna be late for the first day of school! - He groggily recognized that voice as being Jackson's, and opened his eyes to remember that today was the first day of school, and he shouldn't be late.

Getting up wasn't as bad as he thought, though it did give him a bit of a struggle. As he marched towards the Great Hall with the rest of his comrades, now dressed in his Slytherin robes, he wondered what would the day await for him.

He spotted the tall figure of Tadashi near the Hufflepuff table, and gave his brother a signal. The elder Hamada caught sight of his brother and turned over to where Hiro was, walking towards the Slytherin table. They noticed as they sat down that the teachers and the heads of houses were giving out the schedules to any student that were near to them.

-Won't they tell at you to eat at your own table?

His brother shrugged.

-As long as we don't get into trouble, they're alright with this. You should eat the muffins, they're really good; especially warm with butter on top…

Just like last night, there was a wide variety of food on display on the tables. From muffins to butter, from pancakes to waffles and from orange juice to eggs. Hiro felt his stomach roar, and took a bit of everything to calm down his appetite.

Just as he was munching down, Tadashi asked him a few questions as he grabbed a bit of everything.

-So, how are the snakes?

Hiro shrugged as he gulped down scrambled eggs. What could he tell him? They had just met a few hours ago, and they had all been fairly pleasant to him. What did his brother want? Details?

-Well no one has tried to bite me yet, they've all been very nice and cool and…

-Just wait until you meet Jafar, then.

-Who's Jafar?

-He didn't send you to your rooms last night? Oh ho, then you'll certainly meet him today. Oh -His brother paused, and a devilish smile crept up his face- There he is.

As Hiro turned, his sight was blocked by the figure of a tall man. He wore dark red robes that accentuated his skinny figure along with a dark cane; and his long thin face was marked with high cheekbones and a small goatee. To top it all off, he wore a mauve turban atop his head; while a red macaw rested on the tip of the cane.

On one hand he carried the cane and on the other he held the students' schedules.

-You better not dawdle on your first day, little boy, or...Oh, Mr. Hamada why aren't you at your own table?

-Yeah, sir, I know, I just wanted to show my brother a bit of this. Professor Jafar, this is Hiro. - And without a second warning, Hiro found himself shaking hands with the eerie looking professor. He was dumbfounded and a little intimidated at first, but he tried to shake off his doubts. It's not like the professor was gonna kill him, anyway.

-Aaah, yes, young Hiro, isn't it? My, my, your brother has told us all about you.

-Professor Jafar teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts.

-One of the most essential subjects a wizard should know, don't you think?

Hiro nodded, not knowing what to say exactly, but knowing that he had to please the teacher.

-I'm looking forward to seeing you in class, Hiro. After all, it's a privilege to have you in my house already.- And he gave the boy his own timetable before he left. Tadashi looked at the teacher's back for a moment before he turned to his brother.

-Well, what do you think?

-...He's a little creepy.

-Understatement of the century.

Before he could say any more, a loud scream erupted throughout the hall and made everyone jump in shock.

-WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE CAR!? I WOKE UP TODAY AND WENT TO THE GARAGE AND FOUND IT EMPTY!

The loud voice seemed to come from the Hufflepuff table, and there was something in that voice that seemed vaguely familiar to Hiro.

-FRED! HAVE YOU USED THE CAR TO BOTHER THE MUGGLES? YOU BETTER NOT, OTHERWISE THE ONE WHO'LL PAY WILL BE ME! AND THEY'LL KILL ME AND SEND MY BODY TO AZKABAN!

The screaming ceased, and everyone turned to look at the Hufflepuff table, where a reddened Fred gave an embarrassed smile to everyone who locked eyes with him. A red letter laid in his hands as fumes came out of it.

Hiro took in the event they had just witnessed and looked at his brother, searching for some explanation of what had just happened.

-Are wizards actually sent to Azkaban for something like that? - He did remember, at least, that criminals were sent to Azkaban in the wizarding world.

-Well, the pureblood supremacists want you to believe that, but it's all a ruse. Fred's father happens to be a little eccentric, that's all.

-And what did Fred do?

-Hum he probably got high...Messed with his dad's car...Probably nothing serious.

 _Probably nothing serious._

As Wanda finished her breakfast and left the Great Hall towards the dungeons, where she would be having her first class (Potions), she felt someone speed up to her, and she spotted her brother right next to her, checking out his own timetable.

-Son of a bitch! Two hours of Defense, two! Is he mad? Is he doing this to torture us?

-You know the classes will get more difficult in this year, right? They're just preparing you for the exams.

-I know but...Two hours! And you've got only one hour of Potions! It's not fair!

-Pietro, you know the schedules vary for everyone. It all depends on how did you pass the first exams last year and then…

-You guys! Daddy wrote to me!- A voice interrupted them, and the two turned to see a tender image: their little sister, Lorna, running up to them with a parchment on her hand and a smile on her face.

-Daddy just wrote to me! He just found out about the sorting! He says he's very proud of me. - She looked down towards the piece of parchment. - He's very proud and he sends love to you too.

-Funny, he didn't write me anything.

-You weren't selected. - Wanda turned and smiled to her little sister – Write back to him. Tell him your first impressions and what do you think overall of Hogwarts. He'd like hearing that. - She held Lorna's hand, and tenderly tugged it. The girl smiled at Wanda and looked back at the letter.

-You should check it out.- She raised the letter up to her siblings' face, and they read the paper filled with their father's handwriting.

 _He's really happy._ It was easy to note when their father was happy, and this was such an occasion. By the way he was describing his feelings of joy, it was as if he was the little kid who had been sorted.

-Well, then, you better write back to him.

-Yeah, but not now. I've got Charms with Professor Poppins at first hour.

Pietro nudged his sister playfully

-Then you better get going, go go!- And she ran off to the other side of the corridor, where other first year olds were walking towards. And as she turned left, she was gone.

-...He is happy. And she is happy as well.

-He's never happy about anything.

-No, but this is true, Pietro. The words he wrote, the way it was written...I do think he is really happy with this.

-Well, that's good, isn't it? - He touched her sleeve softly – When are your classes this year?

She bit her lower lip and looked at him, trying to remember what did the paper say. She had read it all summer, trying to remember...The same schedule she had had throughout all the previous years...

-Wednesday, at 9 pm. I'll guess I'll just have a quick dinner that night then. -

She felt warmth in her hand, and looked down to see Pietro holding it. She gave him a sweet smile, one that he was so used to seeing and adoring.

-You can tell me all about it then.

She kept smiling, until she paused and turned her head towards the windows. She thought she heard footsteps coming near to them... _Maybe not, but still..._

\- You better get going, you don't wanna cross Jafar on the first day.

-I wish. I'm starting to get hungry and this really blows. I would so kill for a sandwich.

-When's the first Quidditch practice?

-Next week. I already spoke with Tanaka and the others and they're okay with starting next week. Only we need somebody new to stand in for Haggard, they say he's leaving the team for - he pointed his fingers upwards - "head boy duties".

-Good for him then.

-But yeah, next week we're starting again.

-Then train hard till then and afterwards you can eat all the sandwiches you want. Raid the kitchens if you will.

He cracked up a smile, one that seemed to hold up a laugh, and before turning towards his own classes he gave her a quick peck and left.

She just turned back towards the dungeons, trying her hardest to hide her smile and diminish the red glow that came from her hands.

He shouldn't have eaten that much.

When Peter Parker walked down from the Gryffindor tower to the Great Hall that morning, he just thought he would have a simple breakfast to deal with the day. Something simple, but nutritious, like wheat toast with turkey ham and orange juice.

Of course, Peter naively thought this breakfast would be like the other breakfasts, but he was wrong: for being the first day of classes, the breakfast served that day was one of a kind.

Pork sausages, chicken sausages, waffles; muffins, yogurt, croissants, and fruits of all shapes and sizes; those were a few of the things that were at the table, awaiting to be eaten by the hungry students. Peter tried resist the temptation, but at the end he just gave in and swallowed a stack of eight pancakes in one set.

His stomach despised him for that.

It took a long while for Peter to recompose, and once he felt better he realized the tables were being emptied and the students were starting to leave the Hall. Professor North passed by him and gave him a timetable, while slightly patting him on the back. The only problem with that, though, was that Professor North was too big and Peter too small and frail.

As his glasses fell to the ground and he tried his best to retrieve them, a soft voice spoke from above him and called his attention

-Hey Petey! Oh, no...Don't tell me Flash took your glasses again.

-No, no not Flash. Now it seems North likes to play bully. - Gwen chuckled softly as she sat next to him while he adjusted his glasses. Gwen had pulled her hair that day into a ponytail and was busy reading Peter's timetable.

-Hey, you've got Magical Creatures with me!

-Really?

-Yeah, we both have it today at the first hour. - She took out her timetable and showed it to him.

-Well, it will be easier to deal with the fire crabs, then.

-You guys already studying? We haven't even started classes yet. - A sing-songy voice claimed, and they turned at the familiar voice. Two redheads walked towards them and sat in front of them.

-No, MJ, we're just checking out the schedule for today. - The girl, MJ, nodded as she ate a bun that she held in her left hand, while Harry, sitting next to her, decided to check out his own timetable.

-Gwen and I have Care of Magical Creatures together.

-That sounds cool, meanwhile, I'll just have to deal with...Ugh, divination. -

-We have Divination this year together! I'll sit right next to you, Harry.- Mary Jane cheerfully said as she slid towards her Slytherin friend and compared his schedule to her own. Harry gave her a little smile before rolling his eyes at the schedule.

-I don't know why we keep up with Divination though...That class is a fraud.

-Maybe this new teacher will be something different. Maybe he knows of this, don't diss him yet.

-But we didn't like it last year, who says this year it will be good?

-I do.- And the Hufflepuff girl winked at him – Come on, you can't dismiss a class we haven't had yet.

-And you'll probably won't have it if you keep sitting here at the tables! Come on, children! Go!- Professor North reprimanded them with a teasing smile before shooing them away, and the four chuckled to themselves as they grabbed their books and went off to their classes.

-Well, then, see ya at lunch you Scamander Newts. Be careful with angering the worms.- MJ playfully said to the two as she and Harry went up the stairs.

-Take care, and don't let the fumes get to you. - Gwen waved back at them, and then turned to Peter, signaling towards the doors that would take them to the school grounds.

-Let's get going, the fire crabs must be anxiously awaiting to eat our fingers.


	6. First week of class

The road taken to get to the school grounds was a steep one. It was filled with open crates and loose rocks wherever they placed their feet, ready to make them fall if they weren't cautious; but that didn't damper neither Gwen or Peter's spirits. It was the first day, after all, and usually first days were always days that things often worked out well.

-You slept well last night?

-Yeah, I did. The girls couldn't stop talking about their summers, but I was feeling so tired…-She panted – These books are so heavy! No wonder my dad tells me I should leave a few in the dorm, they could give us a hunchback.

-Yeah, a hunched back. Flash would have more reasons to laugh at me in that case. - The blonde giggled at the deadpan delivery of that line; it was admirable how Peter took Flash's antics in such a casual manner.

-Dobryy den' deti! Hello, my children! How have you been? Did you enjoy your summer?

Professor North stood in front of the yard in where they had class; just at the opposite of the entrance of the forbidden forest, facing Ralph's cottage. North seemed to be in a cheery mood, as the jolly old man walked towards his students with a giant smile plastered on his face.

-Well, this year we'll begin with kneazles! I thought it was about time that you girls and boys knew about them.- And he pointed towards the yard, where a dozen small creatures seemed to be awaiting them.

-So, does anyone know, first hand, just WHAT is a kneazle? - He paused and gave a glance to the overall class - No one...Oh, there you are, miss Stacy!

Gwen had raised her hand at North's question as fast as a snitch. She had a knack for answering questions quickly.

-Kneazles are small creatures that resemble cats, with tails and ears that resemble the ones of lions. They're often confused with cats, and it's not unusual for the two species to interbreed.

-It seems somebody's read their _Fantastic Beasts.-_ He chuckled- No, that's very good. 10 points to Ravenclaw!

Peter and Gwen just smiled at each other. It was just the first day and Gwen was already getting points for her House, that should have been an accomplishment.

-No, but miss Stacy is right. These small little kneazles are often confused with cats, I think you can see why. - He chuckled – While they can vary in size, usually they are the size you see here – he pointed to the kneazles, who must have been as big as beagles – And they are pleasant animals, to wizards at least. They might be hostile towards muggles, but there are stories of a few kneazles that managed to live amongst muggles disguised as simple house cats.

"Ralph tends to breed these: the first pair he bought, _Alexander_ and _Philomina,_ were a couple that had a litter of eight kittens on the first set. From then on, they expanded and expanded until we had like 30 in the school grounds.

-Ralph will breed and cross anything that moves. - A smart-mouthed little Ravenclaw whispered at the back of the class, and the other kids laughed at his words. Peter just rolled his eyes; Ralph certainly had...eccentric ideas surrounding breeding and the like, but his experiments had never had dangerous results.

 _Well, there's that dragon..._ But as of yet that dragon hadn't hurt anybody, so there was no need to panic. Still…

North clapped his hands to alert the students.

-Well then, let's get you familiarized with these little babies. Get together in pairs or groups of three, and come over and select one kneazle. The rest of the class will consist you kids trying to contact with the kneazle, and see how do they behave around humans.

Peter and Gwen nodded at each other, and soon enough the class had aligned themselves in front of the yard selecting a different kneazle. When it was the duo's turn, they found themselves wondering which cat to chose.

-I like the brown one, it's kinda cute.

-...Hmm, yeah, it seems pleasant. - The brown kneazle, unlike some of the others that were near to it, was actually a little quiet and preferred to be resting on its own than following the ways of its siblings.

North congratulated them as they walked out of the fence

-Aaah, you chose _Carolina_! That's a good choice, she's a sweet girl. She won't bother you at all.

-Yeah, here's hoping. - While Peter carries their books, Gwen was carrying the kneazle. So far, the little cat didn't seem to bother her.

-She's a lot heavier than _Stewie_ , though. - _Stewie_ was Gwen's cat, a sweet grey who mostly liked to nibble at butter biscuits and sleep on the furniture.

-Well, since it's not exactly a cat, it shouldn't weigh precisely like one.

They decided to place themselves at a corner to the left of the yard, a little away from the others but not too far, unless they wanted North to chastise them.

Gwen opened her edition of _Fantastic Beasts_ and casually flipped through the pages until she found the page dedicated to Kneazles.

-It says they can understand witches and wizards, so it's easy to tame them. We just have to give them food and attention so they can start paying attention to us.

-...Well, I have a chocolate cauldron in my pockets from last night. Does that count as food?

-...I suppose so. - She shrugged and then directed her attention to the puss.

 _Carolina_ didn't seem interested in the two at first, preferring to look at her tail over the two. She did move her head at one moment and started to randomly hiss at them, but they didn't know why.

They heard North screaming in the distance, but they weren't sure what was he saying. Gwen gasped and pointed behind Peter.

-LOOK OUT!

The last thing Peter saw was a big, fluffy many legged thing jump towards him…

–

-I swear they're making these staircases longer each year! - Harry panted as he and Mary Jane continued their trek towards the Divinations Tower.

-You're just exaggerating. They're...not...not longer. - Even though she tried to deny his friend's comment, her panting seemed to support his thoughts. Indeed, why did they still have Divinations in the tallest tower?

Professor Williams used the tower for his own projects, but Professor Williams had left the school, but there was no need for the new teacher to use it.

Once the two had arrived and entered with the other students into the tower by the secret door, they got familiar with the tower's new decorations. The two friends inspected the room closely as they grabbed a table to sit around in cushions. While the typical crystal balls, seat cushions and tablecloths were still there, a few other things were amiss.

-Well, the smokes are gone, that's a relief.- Mary Jane murmured as she placed herself on her own cushion.s

-Yeah, before the place seemed like Lee's hangout.

-Hey don't make fun of Fred. -MJ frowned- He's a nice guy.

-He wastes too much of his time with that huff crap.

-Yeah but…

A voice interrupted them.

-Good day, boys and girls! Welcome to Divinations!

Professor Schmendrick looked at all his students from his own table and gestured towards himself with his hands

-Allow me to present myself. I am Schmendrick, last of the Schwarmis, ex-Ravenclaw prefect, and now your new Divinations teacher.

The class gave him a mild applause, certainly not as warm and enthusiastic as the one from last night.

Once the clapping ceased, Schmendrick continued talking.

-Well, seeing as how you're fourth graders, you might be already familiar with the study of Divination, considering you took this class last year, and you had Professor Williams as your teacher.

The blue robed wizard took a close look to most of the papers that were laid out in his table.

-No, he gave me a few instructions for this year, telling me of what you kids studied last year, and what you may do now...Hmm, do any of you know about prophetic dreams?

Harry and Mary Jane just looked at each other and shrugged. They never liked Divination; they always consider the subject a fraud. They always found the answers imprecise and unexpected, and found the thought to often believe in abstract terms for divination to work was a mayor fault in the subject.

But maybe this new teacher could improve the subject.

-Well, anyone? Does anyone know about prophetic dreams?

A boy timidly raised his hand.

-Well, ugh, I heard that sometimes, if a witch dreams something more than once, it can come true! It all depends on the moon cycle and if she drinks tea regularly.

-Oh, that's a load of poohole. - A boy in the far back said a little too loudly.

The teacher didn't look kindly at the boy who said that.

-No, it's not a load of poohole. It's actually quite useful. Open your textbook on page 64, we'll read a sample of the paragraph and then do a few exercises.

So, the students did as told, and after a good fifteen minutes Harry and Mary Jane were starting to drift off, preferring to play with their wands or look at the crystal ball instead of paying attention to the book.

-What do you constantly dream about? - The red haired girl asked her best friend. The Slytherin shrugged, not really knowing what to answer. He never paid much attention to his dreams much. His dad said folks who spent time wasting it on dreams were unproductive; not that Harry believed that, but…

-I dunno, little goblins attack me when I'm asleep in bed. What would that mean?

She giggled.

-It probably means you'll die by erotic asphyxiation.

-Dude, that's grim!

MJ just gave him a sly smile; apparently the thought of her friend dying in that manner greatly amused her. Who knew she was a sadist?

-What if your dad would find you that way?

-He probably wouldn't notice I'm dead, he'd just tell my corpse to not dawdle and focus on work instead of jacking off.

At that Mary Jane stopped giggling and looked at Harry intensely, her mind deep in thought. That only lasted a few seconds, though, as then she turned once again into playful MJ.

-I often dream about flying high in the sky, it's weird since I'm not a big fan of Quidditch. What do you think it means?

-That means you'll turn into a world famous actress that both muggles and wizards will like and you'll have so much money you could practically order a pool made of honeyduke's best chocolate.

At that the girl laughed loudly. So well known was her dream of becoming an actress that she could have practically changed her name to "Mary Jane -HopingforWestEnd- Watson". It was a good dream, for sure, but if she was allowed, Mary Jane wouldn't talk about anything else other than that.

The thing is, though, that MJ's dream wasn't just any self conceited whim: she was _very good_ at acting. The few times the school had made plays, adapting screenplays written by either wizards or muggles, MJ always asked to participate either in the cast or helping with the stage.

And every performance of her had been fantastic. As the tragic princess who lost all her loved ones in a war, to the bitter witch who wasn't allowed to perform magic in her own house, to the sweet girl that discovered she was an animagi by birth one day, to the girl who loved a boy too much but couldn't marry him due to their families being enemies…

Every single role she knocked it out of the park.

MJ kept giggling as Professor Schmendrick prepared the class for the exercises.

-Oh Harry, here's hoping…

 _Here's really hoping. You'll make it far, MJ, you truly will._ More farther than he will, that's for sure.

–

When Hiro entered into the class of Charms, he was greeted by different students of his year. He spotted Jack and Danny talking near the windows, and saw other familiar faces between the students, like Lorna Dane and (ugh) Vanellope Von Schweetz. He sat next to the Slytherin boys just as the exact moment when Professor Poppins began speaking.

-Good day, children. I see you all arrived on time to this class. I'm glad that you're able to orient yourself already on the first day. That shows signs of prowess within you.

-Well, I suppose that's good! - Said a kid in the far left.

-Yes, it is good. Now, the subject that I will be teaching you for these next seven years will be Charms. Charms may seem easy at first, but it takes a lot of concentration and practice to fully be good at it.

And once she said that, she pulled out her wand and jinxed an empty table, making it sprout small animalistic legs and making the thing walk for a few seconds. It was enough to charm the first years.

-That's amazing! I totally wanna do that!- The little boy who spoke before cried again in amazement.

-Thank you, mr Sundae, but this spell is very advanced magic. You'd have to be a sixth grader in order to perform that spell correctly. Now – she flicked her wand again and the chair turned back into its normal state – we'll begin with something far more simple.

With another movement of her wand, a bunch of boxes that were piled up in a corner of the class suddenly came to life, and each of them floated towards her desk.

-We'll begin with a simple levitation spell, just for you to understand how gravity works. There is this spell, one of the most basic ones, that is useful for levitating objects, it's called " _Wingardium Leviosa_ ". Please notice the pronunciation and the emphasis I give in the strong vowels. Pronunciation is important in wandwork, with any spell, otherwise you'd end up with disastrous results.-

She motioned with her hand and flicked her wand with a delicate gesture.

-Remember, swish and flick. Drop dead in the center, very fast and quick. Precise and effective.-

And she demonstrated the spell with uttering the special words, flicking her ebony wand once again and pointing to an ink bottle in her desk. The little dark blue bottle started hovering above the desk, and stood in the air for a few minutes for all the class to see. The teacher just smiled at all the surprised eleven year old faces that looked in wonder at her little trick.

-Now, repeat with me (don't use the wands yet): _Wingardium Leviosa._

 _-Wingardium Leviosa!_

 _-_ Again!

- _Wingardium Leviosa!_

 _-_ Remember which is the stressed vowel!

- _Wingardium Leviosa!_

At last the teacher smiled satisfied.

-Good, good. -she pointed towards the boxes she had lifted earlier - In these boxes you'll find very simple objects, like needles or buttons, and your task will be to enchant them to float a least a few centimeters from your desk. Get in pairs or in groups of three and grab a box. There should be one for each pair or group. I think there should be enough boxes for all of you.

He saw Danny pairing up with Jimmy, and seeing how the other options for him would be to pair up with an unknown kid or with Vanellope Von Schweetz, Hiro decided it was a better idea to pair up with Jack. They already knew each other, and Hiro preferred to make fool of himself in front of someone familiar than a complete stranger.

-Hey Hiro, you understood the class?

-Yeah, I think so. It's quite simple, really, just a manner of pronunciation and hand movement.

-It's a good thing wands are ambidextrous.

-They-they are?

The tall boy smirked at Hiro's incredulous face.

-You tell me.

Hiro just shrugged his shoulders and went to retrieve the box. _Another jokester._ He just hoped Jack wasn't difficult to work with, unlike other students who made it their mission to be annoying as fuck.

On his way back to his and Jack's desk, he noticed little Vanellope wasn't gonna end up alone after all. She was talking excitedly with Lorna Dane while checking out the red box she had chosen for them to work with. Well, good for her he thought.

-Alright, children, now let's begin. - Professor Poppins began talking again. - Remember, swish and flick and pronounce well the words. Good, very good…-she talked as she walked throughout the class inspecting each student - Now, miss Aurel, you don't wave the wand that way... Mr. Sundae, no, don't point to your textbooks!...Miss Von Schweetz, are you sure of that...And now, Mr Overland…-She paused at Hiro and Jack's seat.

Jack just waved lazily his wand and said the spell out loud, the buttons flew out of the box and went on to crash on the blackboard. A girl in the first row of seat screamed at that. Miss Poppins just stared blankly at the boy.

-...Well, it's a first try. - She turned – And you, Mr. Hamada?

Hiro deeply concentrated on the red threads that were in front of him. If he could just, just…

- _Wingardium Leviosa!_

For a moment, nothing happened. Until the threads suddenly started hovering, slow but steady, and went up, up, up to the ceiling…

-Hmm...Not bad!

–

Overall, the week seemed to be going alright. Professor Tentacles congratulated her on the first day of class, Lorna exceeded in Charms and Transfigurations, and while Pietro was punished by Jafar for being "insolent" in his class, overall the three seemed to be doing alright.

But now...Now it was time for Wanda's classes. _Wednesday 9 pm, in Yen Sid's office_. Already her sixth year of these classes, and sometimes she felt that they were incredibly useless. Sure, they helped her control it from time to time, but sometimes she wondered if her curse was something that could be "controlled".

As she got nearer to the office, to the griffon shaped staircase, she spotted someone already awaiting by the end of the staircase. A familiar figure, one that had accompanied her since the first class she had, back in the first year.

-Hello Amalthea. - The girl turned, her long hair slightly moving along with her body. She took a moment to reply.

-Oh, hello Wanda. - Her reply was short and cold, and Wanda wondered if she had offended the girl, but then she shrugged. Amalthea always spoke in that soft, quiet voice.

-Did you have a good summer?

-Yes, I think so...And you?

-Yeah, same thing, very good.

-And Pietro?

-He's alright. He just got punished by Jafar, but it's nothing out of the ordinary.

The tall girl paused, trying to assume all the information she was given.

-The girl...at the sorting, that your brother…

Wanda gave a warm smile.

-Yes, Lorna, our little sister. She's beginning this year.

-Oh, congratulations.

-Thank you.

For a moment she had forgotten that they were still waiting for the griffin to move.

-Oh, hum -What was the password? It was written in the note she had been given…- Toffee cakes!

It seemed to be the correct password, as the golden figure moved and a spiral moving staircase appeared in its way. They stood in an awkward silence after that, while walking the stairs, neither of them not knowing what to say next. Wanda found Amalthea pleasant, but often hard to speak to. Amalthea liked Wanda well enough, but she wondered at times if she could consider her a friend.

The door to the headmaster's office opened once they arrived at the top of the stairs; and a tall, blonde witch in blue robes greeted them.

-Hello, girls! It's nice to see you. How was your summer? Did you have a good time?

Professor Albero, the Transfigurations Teacher and Head of Ravenclaw House, was always someone whom you could trust to talk to. Of all the four Heads of Houses at the school, she was easily the warmest and most accessible for the students to talk to. Sure, North was jolly and Mrs. Poppins always lent a listening ear to anyone who needed one, but neither of the two were on the same level of Miss Albero.

-Oh my, you look gorgeous. The two of you! Wanda, your hair looks so nice, did you dye it? And Amalthea, look how tall you've gotten! A little bit more and you'll be taller than Ralph.

The girl just gave to a teacher a melancholic stare, before she cracked down a smile.

-Let's hope not.

The teacher just smiled softly and hugged the two girls in a motherly way.

-Now, I hope you practiced this summer. My, you must be excited for this year. Look at you, Wanda, starting sixth year, with your OWLs results…

-...Yeah, they were a surprise.

-...And you, Amalthea, already in seventh year! You must be looking forward to your NEWTs, and for your career. The world is opening up to you…

The girl looked at the teacher once more, and held her hands close before she responded.

-Yes, it's very exciting.

 _She's hiding something; oh, Amalthea, what is your secret?_ Wanda just thought the expression on her face seemed forced, and the way she held her hands together seemed to be a little too tense for her liking. She often wondered what did the Ravenclaw girl hide, what was that led her to act in such a cold and distant manner…

 _Then again, she's not the only one with secrets._ And in that moment, Wanda was glad that neither of the other two women there knew Legillimency.

-Well, then, let's practice a little bit. I'm afraid to inform you that Yen Sid won't be able to see us tonight, but he will next week. - she gave a knowing look to the girls – Business meetings and all that, planifications for the school, and overall he's viewing how has the first week gone.

-I heard a boy in fourth was attacked in Care of Magical Creatures?

-Oh, yes, Peter. North and Ralph are very distraught, but I assure you, it's nothing lethal. Madame Pomfrey has assured me that the worst is over, and now it's only time for him to wake up. Apparently that boy is stronger than a bull. - She chuckled- Maybe, if you'd like, you could check him out, Amalthea. Madame Pomfrey already healed the wounds, but you could sure take notes out of it.

-Yes, that sounds interesting. - Amalthea had, like Wanda, similar problems controlling her powers, but in the later years it seemed she had calmed them by focusing on health and medicine; taking care of wounds and such. While her powers got too much at times, it was relatively easier to control them, in her words, if they were focused on one singular aspect.

 _Lucky._ She wished she had Amalthea's control, but nope, Wanda's powers were as unpredictable as hurricanes at times. She wished her powers had turned into a nurse's aiding kit, at least they would be more controllable in that case.

-Well, then, let's start. - She directed the girls away from the headmaster's office, and into a small chamber within the office, a small but practical place where they always held their classes. Wanda didn't know if anyone else used this room, aside from them and Yen Sid, but she always felt the place to be like a cage. It was dimly lit, and the only source of light came from a tall thin window. There was nothing in the room except a few chairs and a small table, and random objects that Professor Albero would bring some days for them to practice with.

-Well, then, leave the wands here. - They did as they were told. - Now, concentrate, close your eyes, inhale deeply, think of your center...And release it.

Soon enough, red energy beams came out of Wanda's hands, while Amalthea's were covered in a soft, lilac hued light.

Releasing the powers was the easy part, thought Wanda. The difficult parts were controlling them and then holding them back. But well, she had this hour to practice...And later on she could talk with Pietro...And he was so comforting and accepting of this... _Better than a lover._


	7. New opportunities

The last things he remembered before blacking out were Gwen's screams and a sharp pain he felt in his back. After that, it was all darkness.

But he was awake, he knew he was awake. There was something in him that told him it was time to wake up and open his eyes; maybe it was the fact that he could form his own thoughts again, or maybe it was the fact that he felt his blood pumping and running throughout his body.

Then came the voices, and darkness faded to turn into a blurry light, and soon enough he could make out shapes. A shape came forward and muttered something, while other shapes accompanied it.

-...Two…a small rip...infected…

-...stay this way?

-...the worst is over. Now it's just a matter of him waking up.

-I am awake.

The next thing he heard were a few screams and gasps, and then a blonde figure jumped into his arms and hugged him with such strength he was sure his organs were being squished to death.

-Oh Peter! You're alive! I was so scared...

-How are you feeling, tiger? Better?

As the blurs disappeared from his eyesight, he managed to see better the overall picture surrounding him. He was in a comfy, white bed; Gwen was holding on to his neck for dear life, while Mary Jane and Harry looked on worried at him on either side of the bed. At the feet of the bed, Madame Pomfrey was writing down on a parchment as she looked at him.

-Oh, that's good. Rest your head for now, you've got a nasty bump there. You could've almost cracked your skull had your little friend and Professor North arrived late.

-Wait, what? -He blinked, noting that he wasn't wearing his glasses- What happened?

-Peter, you don't remember?

-Hum not really. I mean, you screamed for me to look out, and then something hit me but…

-Peter, you were attacked by an acromantula!

He widened his eyes at Harry's comment, trying to cover the surprise. Acromantulas were known to be one of the most dangerous magical creatures to ever exist, how did he manage to survive the attack of one?

-Really!? Damn…-He winced in pain and looked down towards his torso, trying to move Gwen a little bit at the same time. Right in the left side of his chest there laid an enormous amount of bandages covering his torso and pressing against his ribcage. He noticed the painful sting that came from the bandages, and imagined that was where the spider bit the deepest. He noted also pressure on his skull, and raised his hand towards his head to notice another thick layer of bandages were wrapped around his skull.

He turned over to his friends and exchanged worried looks with them.

-Okay, so, what happened?

Harry and Mary Jane turned to Gwen, who sighed and began to once again recite the story she had told to the others before.

-We were in class, remember? The two of us were with the kneazles…

-...Yeah.

-...And, behind you, an acromantula came running silently towards us. It was a small one, but it was still so grotesque...I warned you, but the spider was too quick and jumped on you…

-Yeah…

-You fell to the floor and the acromantula bit you, apparently it poisoned you a little bit. Don't worry! - She cried as he turned to his bandages- Madame Pomfrey and the others cured you in time before the worst happened. She says that the spider left a little bit of poison within you, but it's nothing lethal.

"It was about to run against me, too, but I stunted it long enough for North to come over and seize it. He sent Ralph to guard the spider as he and I attended you. And then you were sent here".

-You were unconscious for two days! We were already thinking the worst…-Harry looked down at his feet in a somber fashion, and Peter understood what did his friend mean.

 _Though, if I died Flash would be laughing till his sides hurt._

-We were all very worried, we came here daily to see if you were okay.

-And _Carolina?_

Gwen smiled, relieved to tell him any more stories he missed while KO.

-She's alright. She ran off before the spider got to me or to her. She's too smart.

-Why do we even have acromantulas in the school? They're pretty dangerous and known to kill people. - Once again, Harry averted Peter's eyes.

And once again, Gwen knew the answer.

-Yen Sid's orders. He thinks in order for us to know about the world we should have every species of magical creatures in the castle. But of the dangerous ones, he only keeps the weak and the babies for a while before releasing them again and getting a new batch.

MJ just rolled her tongue at that.

-Weird philosophy.

-Yes, but in his words, it works.

There was something else in Peter's mind, though, something beyond what the Headmaster thought.

-And North? Ralph? How are they doing?

-Well, they're very upset about what happened, but it was an accident and nothing will come to them. We can always go visit Ralph later.

-Yeah, he's been drinking a lot lately due to...well…-Harry cleared his throat- North wrote to your Aunt and Uncle, by the way.

That certainly alarmed Peter.

-Aunt May and Uncle Ben? And what did they say?

-Well, they were a little scared, but it was an accident, and once they told them the worst was over they were much calmer.

-I'm sure Aunt Anna helped them with any questions they had. -MJ added. Which would be possible, seeing as how her aunt was a witch herself.

Harry nodded at her words and looked back at Peter.

-You're lucky your aunts and uncle acted that way. If I had been bitten, my dad would've come into the school claiming to sue it and to fire some of the staff. -

-Oh, he wouldn't do that…- Gwen began, at which Harry just shrugged.

-You know, "Osborn blood is royal blood" and all that. Anything bad happens to either of us, he thinks it's an offense to the family name.

The four kids laughed at that, and how casual Harry had said it.

-It's a good thing my dad doesn't really get any of these things. He just thinks I spend all year flying on a broomstick and cooking in the cauldron.

Gwen's father was a muggle, and Gwen had been so far the only witch in her family; so it wasn't really surprising for Mr. Stacy to be confused with his daughter's magical eccentricities.

Peter chuckled again and plunged himself further down the pillow, feeling relaxed at the moment. The wounds seemed something minor now that the worst was over, now that Aunt May and Uncle Ben seemed to be fine and now that his friends were there telling them all those silly stories.

Mary Jane gave Gwen a small nudge on the shoulder, which made the blonde gasp in surprise and turn quickly towards the end of the bed.

-Oh yes, Petey, you wouldn't believe who came here…

-Yen Sid?

-No, not really. - She paused, slightly grinning – Flash passed by and he said he'd be sorry if you died.

-WHAT!? Flash of all people!?

Harry scoffed at the side.

-Even I couldn't believe it.

-Well you better believe it. - MJ smirked – He was here, and he did seem sorry for what happened to you, Pete. Even Liz brought something for you.

And she pointed to a bouquet of flowers that were laying in the night-desk at Peter's right, a bouquet composed of many blue colored flowers.

-Woah...Liz sent me that?

He mostly knew Liz by being in Flash's gang, and while she never really did anything wrong to Peter, she never paid him any attention at all. For her, who basically ignored him till that point, to suddenly give him flowers...It was too weird.

-Well, hum...I'll give her my thanks.

-Yeah, and Flash will laugh in your face. - Harry remarked. Gwen stared him down. In his defense, the Slytherin boy raised up his hands.

-What, do you think Flash will take it well that Liz gave flowers to Pete?

-Honestly I don't care what Flash thinks. I just wanna get out of this room...And try out for the Quidditch team.

He didn't know why did he say that, but it was as if an impulsive idea had come out of Peter and it wouldn't rest until Peter made it come true.

It seemed as if his words had given the wrong response in the room: his friends looked back at him as if he had swallowed a whole watermelon.

-Oh, Pete, you're honestly not thinking of…

-Yes I am.

-Peter, you've never been good at Quidditch, what makes you think…

-I dunno. It's a hunch. But I think it could work. - And without further ado, he hopped out of the bed and started walking, intending on leaving the Hospital wing.

-Hey, you're not well yet! You can't leave! - Madame Pomfrey's alarmed voice was heard throughout the wing, and he turned to see her speeding up to him, accompanied by a long haired girl.

He recognized the girl as being that lonely Ravenclaw student who always went by her own through the hallways. Gwen had told him about her, but not much. For some reason she seemed vaguely interested in what was happening to him.

He looked back at Madam Pomfrey and he locked eyes with her own stern ones.

-I'm feeling better! I truly do. I can't be in bed all the time.

-But you must! You're still not recovering…-She stood closer to him and began inspecting his wounds, and widened her eyes in alarm – But this is…

-What, what is what?

-Hm...How do you feel? Any pain, tiredness, dizziness, nausea?

-Not really...My sides itch a little but it's not really anything.

-Are you tired? Without energy? - She kept inspecting him, from looking directly at his eyes or posing her wand near his ears.

-No, I feel pretty good...Like wanting to play a quidditch match.

In another occasion, she would have laughed at what a wild suggestion he made. But no, she just kept staring alarmed at him, while she continued to examine him and pass her wand through his body.

-And you're feeling...well.

-Yes.

The nurse distanced herself from him a few feet away, and whispered something in the girl's ear. He didn't intend on listening in, but for some reason he heard what the witch was saying.

-...nothing like this...recovery...keep looking at the stitches…

She finished whispering, and the white haired girl simply bowed and turned back towards the Hospital wing. He noticed that she crossed his friends on the way back, whom had risen from their seats and followed him, and now looked at his confrontation with Madame Pomfrey at the door of the Hospital Wing.

-...Alright then, Parker. We do as you wish. But, you must stay in here...For a few more hours. Only for today at least.

And he gave the biggest smile he could ever make.

–

-NO, NO, NO.

-Are you fucking crazy? Parker's gonna fuck up the team!

-I AM NOT HAVING PUNY PARKER IN MY TEAM.

-It's not your team, Flash, calm down.

The next quidditch reunion had been a bit of a hot mess, to put it mildly.

After Lir and Derek, their previous top champions, had left the team to focus this year on their studies and responsibilities, it had befallen to the others to find good, new replacements.

Randy said that there were plenty of new kids to try out; Merida suggested to only pick the older students ("the wee lambs are still too innocent to know about this properly", were her words), while Pietro and Flash were incredibly picky about any decision she would make.

Gogo was at a point where she was beginning to feel tired, and very stressed. She usually didn't lose her cool, but Maximoff's and Thompson's egos were harder to handle when you were the captain of the team as well as a player.

 _That had been a big problem as well._ Pietro and Flash also protested at the election of the new captain last year, complaining about different things. Maximoff wanted himself to lead, while Thompson cried that Gogo wasn't fit for the job. He quickly shut up as he saw the girl raising her wand at him, though.

So, once the initial settlement was over, they tried to find new replacements for Lir and Derek's positions, the second beater and third chaser respectively. After many tryouts, they found a girl in sixth, Karla Tenada, to be their new beater. But there was still the issue of the chaser…

Many had tried out, but none of them were particularly good. And everything changed once Peter Parker arrived...

-But what's wrong with Parker? Maybe he's trained this summer…- Merida wondered as she tied her curly hair with a band.

Randy just shrugged his shoulders at his teammate.

-Maybe, but Peter is a little bit...clumsy with things. He's always been...And with sports, even more.

-MORE THAN CLUMSY! Parker could end up killing us all in a practice just by getting on the broom.

-Okay, Flash, but you don't need to yell.

Pietro was more than angry; she noted the boy was in a bad mood due to how he walked from one side of the room to the other, without stopping.

-I swear, you let that kid in, I'm quitting the team.

-Pietro, no, nobody's leaving the team. Especially not you!

Merida was right, they couldn't lose their seeker (especially considering Pietro was probably the _best of the team_ ), but if they didn't give Parker a chance…

Gogo just stood up from her chair and declared solemnly.

-We'll let him try.

-NONONONONONONOO!

-SHUT THE FUCK UP, BOTH OF YOU! Maximoff, Thompson, I'm fucking tired of you constantly shitting on any decision I make! - She turned to Pietro- You're not leaving the team, you're the best at what you do and I won't lose the best seeker Hogwarts has ever had over a stupid fight.

"And you, Thompson...Just shut up and let him try. You might be surprised, who knows."

Pietro just pouted, but he didn't reply to her. Maybe it was due to his ego, but he probably liked way too much the way Gogo referred to him as being "Hogwarts' best seeker", and probably wouldn't want to change that.

Flash didn't quit, though.

-But I…-

-No buts, he tries. If he's good he stays, if not he leaves. Alright? We'll judge him fairly. -She turned to the rest of the team- Agreed?

The others nodded, and all of them looked back at Flash. He just sighed in defeat.

-Okay, okay, but I'm warning you…

-Ay, give him a chance. Maybe he's good after all. - Merida cut him from going into another rant, preferably not wanting to hear him go on about it again.

–

-Maybe this was a bad idea.

-Gee, you think?

The four friends were awaiting for the decision of the quidditch team to allow Peter to try out. So far, they hadn't answered him, and he waited alongside the others in a small room next to the team's restrooms, in the quidditch pitch, where the try outs had been held.

At the moment, he awaited while holding an old broom from the school that he borrowed for practice, and wearing a spare quidditch robe. It was old, and the hem was ripped in parts, but it was practical.

He looked back at Mary Jane, and her quizzical look made him double think. He felt bold at that moment, but he didn't know if he could hold on for much longer this sudden bravado within him.

-Accept it, Peter, maybe you're just not good at Quidditch. - Gwen stated, looking back at him. Mary Jane shrugged at her friend's comment.

-Maybe the spider bite gave him a newfound courage, like the cowardly lion. You ever read that story, Gwen?

-But still...This is very risky.

-Not to mention dealing with Thompson and Maximoff. - Harry snorted – I don't even know why would you hang out in a team with those two.

Peter smirked at his friend's displeasure.

-Remember that _I'm_ dealing with Pietro, not you. So hold the catfight for now.

Harry just gave him a forced smile. He didn't like Pietro Maximoff, and Pietro Maximoff didn't like him. It was a strange thing, but they had started disliking each other since Harry's first year. Some people weren't so sure as to why they disliked each other: clash of personalities, of thoughts, even a little bit of family history would make one hate the other.

 _The son reaps what the father sows._ That was the popular saying, and it seemed to work in effect here, based on what Peter knew of Harry's dad and the twins' dad. What Peter found funny was that Pietro's sister never really said anything to Harry, nor even paid him any attention. Huh, he guessed it was true the thing about twins sometimes not being direct copies of each other.

They waited for a few more minutes, talking about quidditch and the team, and wondering if it had been wise of Peter to try out so early; until the doors opened and the Gryffindor quidditch team passed through them. Their captain, Gogo, nodded towards Peter.

-Come on, Peter, show us what you've got.

And he did as he was told.


	8. Call it like Lassie

Well, it was decided: Hiro had found a subject he _disliked._

And It was weird for him to dislike a subject, since back in the muggle school he usually excelled in his grades and didn't have problems with any of the subjects.

But Potions was something completely different.

For one, they had classes in one of the dungeons, perhaps the darkest and coldest classroom he had been in so far. The class was an hour and half long, longer than the other classes he had. And the teacher was insufferable.

Of course, Professor Tentacles wasn't as scary looking or as nasty as Jafar, but he was dull and boring. On the first day, he called out the names of the students in such a way that he didn't even pay attention to the kids. Afterwards he gave the most boring and uninterested introduction to the course one can ever give.

"I hope you're interested into this subject, otherwise you will suffer through seven years of pain, bitterness and regret." - He sighed and turned towards the chalkboard. - "That's the potion for today. You have the rest of the hour to do it."

Hiro had paired up with Lorna for that session, and followed most of the instructions of the book (because Professor Tentacles hadn't given them _any_ instructions, preferring to spend the hour reading a magazine than to attend to his students). He soon found out the potion to be easy, and figured potions was no different than the muggles' chemistry. He said that to Lorna as the two were busy chopping ginger roots.

-Oh I've never had chemistry...What's it like?

-You never had chemistry? -He paused- You come from those all wizard families don't you?

She nodded.

-Yes, my dad's a wizard, and my siblings are in sixth. I've never been to school before. Daddy just taught me some things here and there before I came here.

-Do all wizard kids not go to school before entering Hogwarts?

-Well, I don't know, I'm not sure. But my siblings didn't go to school before Hogwarts either.

 _Homeschooled._ Well, maybe Lorna and her family was an exception, but Hiro figured that most pureblooded families had this tendency to teach their kids at home until they were selected for Hogwarts. Maybe they preferred this method over enrolling them at muggle schools, for different reasons. _Some folks don't trust muggles, but others maybe find the magical education better than the muggle one...And after all, if you're a wizard and your kid is the same thing as you, you'd prefer to teach them what you know over a muggle to teach them things which may not work in the magical world._

Hiro never knew where did his or Tadashi's magical abilities came from. Aunt Cass was a muggle, and though she talked about their parents, it seems as if they were muggles themselves, since according to her she never recalled any magical incident with them as with the boys. _Maybe they were wizards, and they kept it hidden from her._ Or maybe they were just muggles, and Hiro was just projecting fantasies onto his life.

-Well, what's chemistry like?

Hiro went back into reality by Lorna's question.

-Well, it's kinda like potions, but for muggles. Muggles use it to understand how do things work around them, like the elements like water and fire, or things like metals and such.

-Oh, my dad is pretty good at solving spells with metals. -She paused- But that sounds really interesting!

-Yeah, but Potions has elements of this and cooking. - He looked back at her- Cooking is…

-I know what cooking is, silly. I'm not that daft. - She chuckled. - Hmm, alright, we've already cut the roots and mixed them with the plum juice. What do we do now?

He looked at the book again.

-Hmm it says here to stir for 6 minutes until the color of the mix turns into an orange hue.

-Alright, then, you'll stir and I'll look at the time.

After the exact time passed, the kids checked on the potion to see if it had turned into an orange hue as the textbook had promised them. But they were unlucky, for the potion still was the mauve hue it originally was.

-Why isn't it working!?

The fumes of the potions had made Hiro's and Lorna's hair turn puffy, and the steam that blew on their faces made them very sweaty. They stirred and stirred the potion, hit the tip of the cauldron with the spoon more than once...But no luck.

-Time's up! Time for me to review your stuff. - Professor Tentacles rose from his seat and walked slowly towards the students, looking uninterested at their potions.

Hiro was worried about what he would do if he saw the disaster potion that him and Lorna had cooked up. He tried to stir it up a bit more, but the color didn't change.

Professor Tentacles worked towards them and rose his nose in disgust.

-And _WHAT_ is this?

-Oh, well, hum, it's the Potion! We followed the instructions carefully. See? We cut the roots and the plums and then we added the hedgehog quills and…

-You overcooked it. - He dropped the spoon loudly into the cauldron.- Take five points from both Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Now _that_ was seriously unfair; why would he take them points for doing things like the book instructed?

-But that's not fair!- Lorna cried. She seemed furious by the she clenched her teeth and had her eyes out of their orbits.

-Keep talking and I'll take more points from both your houses.

The two kids were just angry at what the teacher said; the other kids also didn't manage to do perfect potions and yet he blamed it all on them.

 _Oh, you just made yourself an enemy, Mr. Tentacles..._

–

It seemed surreal, the way he had played quidditch that afternoon. Peter had never been a good player: he knew that, there was no one denying that; and yet the way he had played that afternoon, the way he passed the ball, the way he handled the broomstick, the way he evaded the others...Even he himself was surprised!

It seemed as if his team was impressed, too. Flash grunted and scowled at him during the whole session, but the others seemed to have a positive opinion of him. Even Pietro seemed amazed at how good Peter was.

Merida was the first to congratulate him. She had red hair, like Mary Jane, but it was also different in a way. Merida's was big and curly, while MJ's was long and still. Merida's color was bright red, an almost orange tone, while MJ's was a dark auburn. He stood distracted for a moment thinking about MJ to properly acknowledge Merida's words. Once he responded vaguely to her, she just stared back oddly at him.

He was more attentive towards the others though. He received well Randy's pat on his back, and smiled back at the new beater, Karla. But he was still awaiting the judgement of the team's most important member, Gogo.

-Well, Peter, you've got a lot of potential. - She told him as he waited with her in the team's room. - Where have you played before?

-Well...I, hum, practiced a bit back home. - It wasn't a lie either. He had tried some time ago to practice with a broom he borrowed from the school in the summer, but Peter's house was too small to handle a flying broomstick, so he eventually had to leave the broom back in his trunk (before he broke another vase and upset Aunt May even further).

Gogo seemed to listen to him, but he couldn't have known if he only took her at face value. The girl was more focused on her notes than on him, twirling her purple streak with a finger while writing down notes.

-Well, Peter...I think... - She flashed him a smile. - You're in.

He opened his mouth so widely that he was sure his jaw hit the floor, but he didn't care about that.

-You...You mean it? You're sure? 

-Absolutely!

A sense of euphoria engulfed Peter at that moment, and he felt like wanting to prance.

-Oh...Wow, thank you, thank you! I just…

-Just remember our schedule, and always keep in contact with anyone in the team to know about our practices and the next matches we'll have.

-Sure will. I'll be there at first hour.

He ran out of the room, passing through his other teammates, and didn't stop running until he stood of the waiting room where his friends awaited for him. He adapted a somber expression as he entered slowly into the room.

-So, tiger? How did it go?

-...They didn't chose me.

Peter hid the strongest urges he had of laughing, containing his giggles with a grim look on his face as his friends just reacted sadly to the news.

-Oh, well, Peter, there'll be another time…

-Yeah, who needs quidditch anyway…

He couldn't resist any longer, and a smile slowly crept up his face.

-I'm in.

His friends' reactions went from sadness, to surprise, to annoyance, to admiration, all in one second.

-Why you sneaky little bast-

-Oh my god, Peter!

-Congrats, Pete!

And his friends ganged up on him, blocking his eyesight. He felt his hair tussled by somebody, and another somebody gave him a warm hug (he guessed that was Gwen, she was an expert when it came to hugs).

-We really believed you there, tiger. Since when were you a good liar?

-I dunno, the situation just seemed perfect.

-We have to celebrate this. How about we go get some butterbeer?- Gwen suggested, and soon enough the others were nodding at what she said. A few butterbeers, sweet salty butterbeers, perhaps accompanied by a few biscuits…

-Sounds good, but I wanna write to my aunt and uncle first, if that's alright.

Harry nodded eagerly at his request.

-Sure…Hey, are you alright?- His friend eyed him suspiciously for a moment, as if he suspected of Peter causing mischief and using the letter excuse as a cover.

-Yeah, never better. Why?

-You haven't been wearing your glasses since you left the bed.

Instinctively, Peter raised his hands to touch his eyes, and effectively, Harry was right. The glasses weren't resting on the ridge of his nose...Nor anywhere else.

-I didn't notice.

-Can you see?

-Yeah...Even better than before. - It was the truth, before Peter was as blind as a bat without his glasses, he couldn't move without bumping into someone. But now…

-Do you think it was the Acromantula poison?- He asked once the gang arrived to the tower of the rookery.

-Maybe the spider just gave you super vision, I don't see the bad part of it. - MJ casually commented as she started petting one of the school owls.

-But that could be serious, MJ. Acromantula poison is lethal and dangerous, and Peter's recovery is really strange...Even Madame Pomfrey doesn't know what are the full consequences. - It was obvious that Gwen was still worried for the possible problems that could arise with Peter's new state, but he didn't think it was as bad as she said it was.

For one thing, he was feeling great. He could see better than ever and he could finally play quidditch like a pro. What were the cons of that?

He pondered that question over as she finished writing to his aunt and uncle telling them the good news.

-Well, what owl should I use?

- _Circe_ seems to be in shape. - Harry pointed to a barn owl that was staring at the group. Peter walked towards her and waved his fingers at her, signaling for her to come forward.

The bird hopped from her perch to where the boy was and landed on his left forearm.

-I think you know where this is, girl. - The owl simply cooed as it let Peter tie the letter to its feet and then flew towards the window, carrying the message.

-Well, that's done…-He stood for a moment lounging at the window, looking at the scenery below, and noticed a strange orange shadow near Ralph's cottage.

-Hey, Ralph's at his house! Maybe we should talk to him.

-Oh, I'm not sure Petey...He's been a little over the edge these last days…- Mary Jane gave him a vague shrug as the gang looked over the window.

-Well, seeing me will certainly cheer him up.

-If he's not lying at the floor covered in rum…- Harry muttered to himself. Unfortunately Gwen heard that and nudged him with her elbow.

So, the gang decided to visit the groundskeeper; and off they walked towards the cottage, passing through the bridge and the school grounds. They were at first a little nervous due to going out of the school so late; but they didn't find any ghosts or teachers along the way, so they figured that was a good sign.

Peter knocked at the door of the cottage once they finally arrived. Just upon knocking, they heard a few barkings and other strange noises coming from within the little house.

-Who's there!? Professor Jafar again?

-No, Ralph, it's us.

-Who's "us"?

-Well, uhm, Mary Jane, Gwen…-

-Oh, you guys! Yeah, sure, come in! Move, _Rex._

The door opened, and the gang was allowed to enter into the hut. A large collie was restrained by Ralph with one giant hand as he motioned for the others to enter. Once he saw the entire group his eyes enlarged and his jaw hung open.

-B-but Peter! You're alright! - And the giant flung himself at Peter with such strength, the boy was sure he had cracked a few of his ribs along the way.

-Man, kid, you're alive! And here I already thought you died!

-Well...I'm-I'm not…- He found he was struggling to even say out loud the words.

-Wait, Ralph, better get up, before you kill him yourself. - His friends stood at both sides of Ralph and managed to separate him from Peter. The boy took advantage of that moment to breath again and regain balance. All the while, _Rex,_ the collie, jumped over and licked Peter's face as a way of welcoming him.

Harry whispered to Gwen while they seated Ralph in the couch.

- _What did I tell you? -_ Gwen just shook her head at what his words were suggesting.

-S-sorry, kids, but what happened really shook me. These days I haven't been in the best shape...Been drinking a lot of chocowhisky...

At that moment Harry gave Gwen a smug smirk.

MJ sat down next to Ralph and gave him a comforting hand.

-But it wasn't your fault, Ralph. You didn't know that would happen.

It seemed as if Ralph was listening to their words by parts; because at times it seemed as if he understood what they were saying, and other times he seemed to doze off, distracted by something else.

-But I should've guarded more the cages. Check double on the locks. Yes, and see the little ones if they were okay; and _Angela_ was scared, poor baby.

-Angela? Who's Angela?

-Oh, the spider that bit Peter.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.

- _Angela?_ It has a name!?

-Of course! I name all of the animals! Otherwise how would they respond whenever I call them?-

-You could just whistle and call "Lassie!"- MJ quipped.

Ralph rose from the couch, and signaled for the kids to sit with him at the table. Once there, he placed plates and cups in front of each of the kids and put in them donuts the size of bricks and hot tea.

-Hope you like red berry tea, I'm afraid I'm out of mint and green...But yeah, poor little _Angela._ Had to take her back to the cage and comfort her.

The kids looked at each other while they ate the strawberry and chocolate donuts. While Ralph was in general somebody very pleasant and fun to get along with, the one thing they could never understand of him was his fascination with finding every creature in the world lovable. Sure, Peter thought, cats and dogs are easy to love; but he'd find himself in a difficulty over trying to find a hungry carnivorous lizard "lovable".

Ralph stood a moment looking over the donuts before he looked back at Peter.

-But I'm glad to see you're doing ok. North and I were so scared about what happened to you…

Peter at the time was playing with _Rex,_ and looked up to the giant as Ralph mentioned his name.

-Yeah, I felt better. So much better, that I've entered into the quidditch team.

Ralph received the news slowly, as if he couldn't understand what Peter was saying, until a few seconds later he sported a giant grin on his face

-I knew you could do it! Me, I've always loved quidditch, but could never play it. You see…-He raised his hands. - ...I'd end up snapping the broom in half.

-Or smashing the bludgers…- Harry whispered.

-Yeah, smashing the blu…-He suddenly stopped. - Wait a minute. What are you kids doing out so late at night? You should be back at the castle! Has Professor Jafar seen you?

-Why, no. - Gwen looked interested at Ralph. - He's been here, hasn't he? What does he want?

-Nothing, nothing, you shouldn't know about business between the staff and the minis- And he suddenly realized he spoke too much, and closed his mouth.

-Ralph, it's not about Peter's thing, right? Because he's fine now, they can't fire you or North over this…

-Who said anything about firing? The school is just under new management and you better get going before I say anything else.

The giant shooed away the kids, and the four left in a huff from the cottage, wondering why had Ralph acted so weird.

-I think he's still a little drunk and the effect of the whisky is taking a toll on him. - MJ suggested as she tied back her hair into a ponytail.

They entered into the school and were in the front hall, about to separate and for each of them to go to their different dormitories.

-I don't know...He seemed so friendly and open at first and then he snapped that way...I think him and Jafar are doing something.

Harry didn't seem to like Gwen's words.

-Something with the ministry? - He thought back to his dad, and he shuddered.

-Well, you heard what he said. New management, business...I didn't expect for that to happen, and yet…

-...And yet look what we have here.

The voice surprised the group, and the four turned towards the left, where the statue of an old witch looked severely upon them. And on the witch's shoulder there stood _Iago,_ Jafar's red macaw; looking eerily at them.

–

She was a very dumb witch if she thought she could control him.

Norman Osborn had been very patient with Madame Octi, listening to her counsel in meetings and having occasional visits to each other's office. Yet he always tried to maintain a distance between them, lest he wanted to get ensnared in her tentacles of despair.

While he disagreed with some of her points of discussion, he found himself often agreeing to the majority of what she said. What he found amusing was that the two of them had found a common enemy with Lensherr, who foamed at the mouth whenever he saw the Dynamic Duo together. And as they tended to say, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", so Osborn found it convenient.

He finished the letter that was meant for the Ambassador of Bulgaria and folded it before pouring hot wax on it. He was about to send it to Victoria, so she could properly tend to it, until something stopped him from doing it.

Strange, that was the feeling he felt all of a sudden. Like a quiet dank mist took over his desk, and he felt the weariness of the sea upon him.

The dankness, the feeling of the cold dark sea, the mist...Instinctively he touched his left forearm, awaiting the worst. He pulled his robes back and inspected the skin, but the mark was the color of his flesh, instead of the burnt black it had been in its glory days.

And of course, the mark was _cold._ If he had been summoned, it would've been scalding hot like iron against his skin.

He found himself sweating, and tried his best to compose himself. This was ridiculous, there was nothing that indicated that what had happened was about begin again…

Until he spotted the raven.

The bird stared at him without blinking or moving, resembling more a stuffed bird than a living animal.

In any other occasion, he would have thrown the bird out of his office, either through the window or by the door, but this was no common animal.

He walked towards the door, and left his office, turning to the desk where his secretary was.

-Is everything alright Mr. Osborn? - She inspected him behind those sharp glasses of hers.

He looked from one side of the corridor to the other.

-Yes, Victoria, no need to worry. - And he remembered he still had the parchment on him. - Here's the letter for the Ambassador. Send it to him at once and don't let it dawdle.

-As you wish, sir.

Once she left, he turned once again, looking at both sides of the empty corridor before entering in his office again, hoping that the bird had left in the meantime.

-Hello, Norman. - Spoke a soft, elegant voice.

He should have known, he should have been awaiting for this day, he should have prepared himself...Yet when he saw her, sitting in his chair and looking smugly at him, the only thing he had on his mind was that she shouldn't sit on _his_ chair.

Well, it was better to not think, when she was around, at least.

-My lady. - He stiffly bowed towards her, and the witch clad in black gave a soft chuckle.

-Why, Norman, why so cold? We used to be close, the two of us...There's no need for such formalities.

Yet she was the one who wanted those formalities in the first place, to be called "My lady" and be treated as if she was the Queen...He often found himself in a shameful position whenever he had to act as her personal "servant". He should be the one making the rules, like in the Ministry, _not her_.

-You seem to be doing well. Oh, there are so many of your brothers who would wish to be in your position. A powerful, strong position in our community. One which probably allows you to live well…

A long delicate finger of hers landed slowly on her cheek.

-Do not compare me to those idiots.

-Aaw, is that the way to speak of your blood brothers, who spilled blood and sweat for our well being?

-They were just fools and cowards.

-I'd say, the majority find your act, of pretending that the past never happened, to be a true act of cowardice, Norman. Many would prefer Azkaban to denying me.

He felt his blood freezing inside him.

-But I am a forgiving woman, at least, to those that matter. And oh, you are _so_ important, Norman...And I need important people in important places.

-My lady, you are too kind.

-Kindness is often close to foolishness, and I do not want to be regarded as a fool. - Her voice took a dangerous tone when saying that.

-You are nothing like that, my lady. - He paused- How did you...How could you?

-That is a long story that I will tell you with the others in time due. But for now, we must keep this as our little secret.

-And how did you enter...here?

-Oh, this place is like a maze, with every turn and secret door unlocked, waiting for me to discover its mysteries.

-Without bringing attention?

It thought to him risky, even downright stupid, for the most well known dark witch of all times to suddenly enter into the Ministry and not expect to be spotted by anyone.

-Darling, I have my own means of secrecy. Just because you can see and hear me doesn't mean others can.

A moment of silence occurred between them, as he sat down in the visitor's chair while she slid a finger through her raven's feathers. She was always so elegant and delicate in her mannerisms...All just a farce, naturally. A farce to hide the beast that truly was within the witch.

He found it strange how he reacted to her return with such tranquility and numbness, and instead he should have been more surprised and alarmed. In a way, maybe he had been expecting her return for a long time, so when the moment had finally come he found himself ridden from any disgusts or surprises. He had been awaiting so long for her that the actual surprise of the meeting was lacking. Sad, really.

-I see you've made quite a few friends around here. It would be wise of you to keep them close.

-You're planning on recruiting them?

-No, not really. But...They influence our community, so it's vital to keep them in charge.

-And...and the others? Pitchiner, Octavius…

-I managed to talk with Otto the other day. - She diverted her stare from Osborn and looked at her raven – Poor fool, he's doing all that he can to pass without bringing attention. But I already spoke to him. He seems...vaguely interested.

-You still haven't said anything about…

-Don't interrupt me. - She stared at him with her long eyes, and Osborn felt as if she could kill him with her stare. - Yes, I spoke with Kozmotis recently. Azkaban is a dull place, but he's managed to shape it after his own whims.

"And now I ask you this...Will you help me once again, in our brave crusade?"

It took him a while to answer. While his loyalties would always align with her, he doubted if he could keep up with her charade nowadays. He had a public image he needed to maintain; and if Lensherr ever found out about this, that would be the perfect opportunity to send him to Azkaban.

-Why, Norman, my dear Norman, I expected so much more from you. - She murmured softly – I always considered you to be my right hand, the one whom I could always rely on.

She looked at him again with those deep yellow eyes of her.

-I'll be waiting for you. Just call for _Diablo_ whenever you might want to converse again with me.- And in a blast of green light, Maleficent vanished.

It must have been a dream; it surely must have. The conversation they had was too surreal, and he still felt like reality and dreams were overlapping together.

-Mr. Osborn, the letter has already been sent.-

As he listened to Victoria's voice coming from the outside of the office, he knew exactly what to do. He cleared his throat and stood up before replying back to her.

-Good, good. Bring over Madame Octi while you're at it. Tell her she can begin her little experiment whenever she wants...The sooner the better.


	9. Punishment

-Just what were you thinking!? Running off in the middle of the night like that! Just wait till I tell your head of house!

He had been at it for twenty minutes now. Ever since he had found them, Professor Tentacles had been screaming his head off at Hiro and Jack and the other boys. Their crime? Sneaking off past bedtime.

Hiro initially didn't want to accompany Jack in his little adventure, but after the boy's endless insisting, he gave up and followed him, dressed in his pajamas and carrying his wand for protection.

-And what are we doing, again? The prefects will chop our heads if they see us.

-Charlie says there's an open leak in the third floor, and he spotted something weird the other day between classes. He thinks there's an animal there, hiding something.

-That sounds dumb. - _Charlie's dumb anyway._ He thought Jack would be a smarter kid who would know whom to talk to and whom not to.

-You're dumb, Hamada.

-No, you are. You and Charlie and that Vanellope are dumb as hell.

Jack had convinced the other Slytherin kids of their year to accompany them, mostly Timmy and Jimmy. While Hiro and Jack spent the rest of the night complaining to each other, the other two boys just walked alongside them without saying so much as a chirp.

-No, you see, Hiro- Jack said at one point when they were reaching the moving stairs that lead directly to the third floor. - It's gonna be fun and…

-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? STUDENTS OUT OF BED! IT'S 2AM IN THE MORNING! STUDENTS OUT OF BED!

Professor Squidward appeared behind a column, surprising the kids and catching them before they could think of running away. Some time later, they found themselves in his office.

Professor Squidward kept talking and ranting and squealing his head off; in such an exaggerated manner Hiro thought his head would explode of all the inner rage the Potions master was holding back.

It didn't take him long to call on Professor Jafar either. He thought at first about calling all the Heads of Houses, but he soon realized that all the kids were Slytherin boys, so there was no need to awaken Professor Poppins or Miss Albero.

Once Professor Jafar appeared on the door of the office, he gave a general glance to the overall picture and gave his judgement on it.

-Well, well...More disappointment for House Slytherin I see.

-JAFAR! THESE STUDENTS! THEY WERE OUT OF…

-I understand your concern, Tentacles, but please, you won't be needed anymore. I can manage my own students well enough.

Professor Tentacles frowned at his words, but he simply turned and left his own office. Angry he might be, but it was obvious that Jafar held more power than him in these things.

-Well, well, it's not enough that the other day I found another student of mine walking through the school grounds in the night, now the first years are following in his example?

-Who did that?- Jack asked. The boy couldn't hold his tongue for long.

-It's none of your business. What matters is that you crept out of bed and decided to have a little adventure at forbidden hours. For that, each of you will be rested 10 points from Slytherin.

-What? No!

-It pains me to take points against my own house, but the naughty children must be corrected.

-Oooh, 40 points from Slytherin in one night...The students won't be happy. -Iago whispered as he looked to the kids. Hiro was still surprised at the fact that this parrot could actually _talk_ , and not just mimic sounds and voices of others like common parrots tended to do. _Must be a spell or something._

-Yes, but they will learn with this lesson, Iago. And hopefully, they won't forget it.-

But based on Jack's small grin, it seemed to Hiro that the boy wouldn't take this lesson seriously...

–

Jafar had _not_ been merciful.

After the parrot had caught them, he had lead the gang to the professor's office, and Jafar stood there a good hour evaluating each of them and criticizing them.

He let the girls go with very small comments (Gwen often had good grades and stood out of trouble; and Mary Jane normally tended to behave in class, so Jafar couldn't find more good reasons to insult them), but he held back a few big ones for the boys.

That he was _so_ disappointed that a student of his own house, Harry, was breaking the rules; that he was shaming the Osborn name (Harry rolled his eyes at that)...And Peter, of course, Peter, it was all "lazy good for nothing wimpy Parker" (which didn't make much sense, since Peter did work hard to pass his classes; he guessed Jafar was just being hurtful for the sake of it).

Either way, with insults or not, he had given the same punishment to each of the gang: to stay everyday after classes for a week (including the weekend, in which case they would be helping him all day till night except breakfast, lunch and dinner hours) helping him with work. The kids did not take this well.

-But I've got quidditch practice!

-And we have to get ready for the first Hogsmeade visit!

-And we've got homework to do!

He just shrugged at their complaints.

-You should've thought of that first before scurrying off into the night.

Peter thought of mentioning Ralph, but he quickly realized that he would get the groundskeeper into more unneeded trouble if he mentioned him. Ralph was already going through a lot with _Angela_ , so to then pack him with their problems as well and with Jafar causing even more of a fuss...No thank you.

So they just took Jafar's punishment without any more complaints, because he had already taken a few points from each house, and his opinion wouldn't be swayed. He wasn't going to lift the punishment, and he expected the four to appear in his class next Monday at 5 pm.

And so, Monday came without much ceremony. Except for the fact that Peter had to go and tell the team about it; and they didn't take it well, to put it mildly. Flash most of all.

-SEE? See? What did I tell you? You can't trust Parker on the team, he'll eventually screw up!

-But...Parker! You promised! I swear if you're gonna make us lose in our first match I'll…-

-Calm down, Pietro. - Merida said to the Maximoff boy. Then she turned to Peter, her curls waving softly. - But Peter, you know better than to cross Jafar. Why did you have to be so dumb to do that?

Peter started to get red at that. It wasn't fair, it wasn't like he was some irresponsible child either.

-I wasn't being dumb, I just left that night from the grounds and didn't realize the time…

-You still should've known better. You're not a first year to do that.

-Oh please, like if you don't skip out at night and get into trouble as well, Dunbroch.

Merida's face turned as red as her hair.

-Don't speak to me like that, Par…

-ENOUGH. - Gogo interrupted the team's squabbles. - It's alright, Peter, I understand. Everbody's crossed with Jafar before, he's not a merciful teacher. - The girl pursed her lips. - And yet we can't waste any single day of practice. Just be careful next time, okay? And promise to be here next session, because we really need to practice.

He noted the disappointment in her face, and reminded himself to not disappoint the captain again. He had his mind lost on quidditch and practices while he walked towards Jafar's office, awaiting for the school clock tower to strike 5 pm.

He found the others sitting in chairs near the Defense classroom, all of them carrying bored expressions on their faces.

MJ was the first to speak to him.

-The girls couldn't believe it when I told them I was gonna be in detention the whole week. They were looking forward for us to plan up our Hogsmeade visit.

He looked at her as he sat down next to her.

-You were really looking forward to that weren't you?

-Well, duh. It's Hogsmeade, what do you expect? Lots of shopping opportunities, and Glory told me Madame Malkin just opened a place of hers there.

Gwen moved her head to look at MJ.

-Really? That sounds awesome!

-If you want, you can come with us.

-Oh, I'd love to.

The girls then began talking with themselves, ignoring Peter. He left them alone and moved to where Harry was.

-Hey.

-Hey. -He paused for a moment- Did they write to your father?

The Slytherin boy just shook his head.

-Not really...At least, he hasn't written to me yet.

He was about to reply, until a loud thud interrupted their chatter.

-I see you arrived on time. - Jafar's soft voice carried every word with such delicacy it seemed as if he was afraid of dropping his words to the ground.

The teacher signaled for the four to enter into the classroom, and they followed his lead. Once inside his office, he gave out specific instructions to each of them.

-Miss Stacy, I think you'd like to organizes these files and notes I have here. Remember to organize them in alphabetical order, in order of date, and from the highest grade to the lowest.

-Yes, Professor.

-Miss Watson will instead help organizing these old skeletons, assembling them in order and placing them in their specific place in the classroom.

-Alright.

-And for the gentlemen…

-What, we'll work together? You're too kind professor. - Peter's voice was dripping with sarcasm, but Jafar didn't like to interrupted, so he cleared his throat and furrowed his brow.

-You'll clean these old books, that have been plagued with dust and vermin for many years, and organize them in alphabetical and chronological order. In the order that they were first published, of course.

Harry looked at the dusty old books before he turned to Jafar.

-Do the books have their date?

The Defense against the Dark Arts professor just shrugged.

-You'll find that on your own. I'll leave _Iago_ here with you to supervise you and prevent you from dawdling. Remember you'll be staying here until dinner. I expect for you to finish the work entirely.

And with that, he left the room. _Iago_ , his parrot, flew from a corner of the room to stand on Peter's shoulder.

-You heard our teacher, so get moving!

 _Being scolded by a parrot...How embarrassing._ So the kids didn't do much for the next hour but what Jafar had ordered them to do.

After the first hour passed, though, they started to get bored. Gwen as always continued with her work, but Peter noticed how at times she tended to huff and grunt to herself when organizing the papers. MJ was busy polishing a dragon's skull while she was chatting up with the bird (strangely enough).

-Oh, that sounds _so_ interesting. So you and Professor Jafar met each other in a market? Tell me more of this place.

The parrot moved from one place of the teacher's desk to another as he replied to MJ's request. He seemed to like the attention given to him by Mary Jane.

-Oh, those were the golden days. Me and Jafar, we could just do anything we pleased and go anywhere we wanted. Even the Sultan couldn't deny us what we wanted, even though he tried to at first.

-Oh, you guys met a Sultan? Wow.

-Yeah, but everything changed once…-The parrot moved his beak before finishing the line.- ...Once Jafar needed a job and Yen Sid asked him to be here.

-MJ, what are you doing chatting up with him? - Peter whispered into the redhead' s ear. She just gave him a lazy smile without properly responding him. She then turned back to the parrot.

-Tell me more about this Sultan.

–

Jafar came back at 7.55, and inspected their jobs. He concluded saying that they did a good work, and expected them tomorrow at the same place and same time. The four kids left the room exhausted, but relieved that at least their first day of punishment was over.

-Now can you tell me what were you doing flirting with the parrot- Peter questioned his friend again once they were near the main Hall. At that Mary Jane let out a soft giggle.

-Oh, Peter. You think that was flirting? - She waved her hair softly. -I just wanted to chat him up, soften him up a bit. So maybe he could convince Jafar to soften our work or such.

-Oh. - He felt dumb at that.

-Still, what he said was interesting. The whole thing about Jafar and a Sultan...I never heard that before.- Gwen thought out loud, speaking to one in particular. - Of course, teachers normally don't talk about their past lives in such details, but still…

Harry left out a yawn.

-Maybe we can conclude the mystery another time. I'm really hungry and I'm mostly thinking of getting that beef stew.

So the four separated for a while to sit down at their respective house tables and have dinner. There was beef stew, yes, and other delicious plates throughout the table. Yet Peter found himself yearning for a nice hot dog to eat. Maybe he was being cliched, but hot dogs were probably one of his favorite foods.

After they finished eating they decided to go to the rookery again; not for any particular reason, but Peter wanted to see if his aunt and uncle had replied to his previous letter. He had the strangest feeling that _Circe_ had returned with the reply.

And strangely enough, he was correct. Standing on one perch was the barn owl looking at them. The bird flew to where they were and raised a claw carrying a small letter inside an envelope.

-Yes, they answered the letter!- Peter quickly untied the note and left the bird free. His friends looked over his shoulder to see what was written in the letter.

" _That was a bold move...Very dangerous...But we're proud...But you have to be more careful with these things..."_

It was much of the same, if he was being honest with himself. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were always well-meaning folks, but sometimes they would get worried for the smallest things. He finished reading the letter and said out loud the last part of it.

-"With Great power comes great responsibility". He's always telling me that. -Peter folded the letter and hid it in his pockets.- He thinks I go hexing around people left and right, not thinking of the consequences.

But Gwen seemed to be agreeing with Uncle Ben.

-But he's right, Peter, you have to think of the consequences...I still don't think it was a good idea for you to keep that Acromantula venom inside of you. You don't know the full details of it! Maybe it's slowly poisoning you!

-No way. - He shook his head. - You heard Madame Pomfrey, everything's fine. Besides, thanks to this venom I got selected into the quidditch team. What's so bad about that?

It was really nothing truly _bad,_ in his opinion, and he thought his friends and his uncle were just being overly dramatic.

–

Hiro had found much comfort in Tadashi's friends.

Sure, at first he had simply found them to be just his older brother's friends, but Hiro had found himself talking with them more and more with each day passing. Sure, he liked his first year friends well enough, but the older kids seemed to be more comprehensive of some of the things Hiro was going through (mainly his punishment with Jafar and his issues with the 40 house points he lost the other night).

-Come on, Hiro. That happens to anyone. Jafar's a butt to anyone, you don't even need to break the rules to piss him off. -Wasabi said to him as he pat his back. - Of course, it's just much better to follow the rules but…

Fred chortled at Wasabi's words. He raised a lazy finger to Hiro's eyes and told him softly:

-Dude, Jafar's got a thing with everyone. The day he doesn't punish anyone and everyone will be the day I'm filthy rich.

-Fred, you're already rich. - Honey whispered to the Hufflepuff boy.

-Aaaaaw, yeah! Okay, bad example then.

Honey then turned to Hiro and smiled widely at him.

-Don't worry, Hiro! A way to cheer up and get into Professor Tentacles' good mood is getting to do well in Potions. If you want I can help you with it.

-I'd prefer pissing off Professor Tentacles, like maybe throwing my cauldron filled with plum juice at his face.

-Better not, you know professor Tentacles is furious ever since he found out you left the other night.- Honey softly commented- You better stop getting in trouble, Hiro.

-It's not like i'm searching for trouble! It just happens that it has a way of following me around.- The boy replied. Of course, if he was being specific, he should've admitted that the way trouble followed him around was because Jackson Overland was like a trouble magnet, but It didn't feel right to him to speak about his friend with this group.

Tadashi had been listening to the conversation that was happening, but he hadn't said a word during all of it. If he was disappointed with Hiro or not, he didn't know; since even his face tried to conceal his emotions. Finally he stood up from his chair and sat closer to Hiro.

-Hey, if you want...If you're interested...You can come hang out with us Friday evening.

The young Hamada widened his eyes at his brother's proposition. His group of friends also seemed a little tense by his words.

-Tadashi, are you sure…?- Those were Gogo's only words, yet it seemed that Tadashi understood what his friend, for he nodded silently at her.

-Yes, Friday evening, next to that statue of a troll in the second floor, near the grey staircases. You know where that is, right Hiro?

-Yeah, I think so.

His brother smirked a little bit more.

-You're gonna like what you'll see.

-What is it?

-Oh, think of it as a surprise.

–

It was Thursday already, and the gang were beginning to feel sore due to the cleaning and polishing and moving and organizing that their detention required (aside from the usual exhaustion from classes and running up and down the castle stairs). Their muscles ached and their joints felt sore, but not the usual calming feeling of soreness one felt after doing sports; no, this was the soreness of doing endless, needless work.

-And after all this time we still don't know what did Jafar want with Ralph. - Harry said that day they left the classroom.

-Maybe it wasn't anything that important, and Ralph was just a little tipsy that day. - MJ thought.

-And the parrot hasn't spilled the beans either.

MJ had tried her best to sweet-talk Iago out of telling them the secret deal of Ralph with Jafar, but it seemed that the parrot knew what things he had to keep secret, and what things not to. And no matter how much he talked about Jinns, Sultans or the desert; he would never say anything about that other night.

-Could be, but still…-They were suddenly amidst a commotion; hundreds of students walking from one side of the corridor to another and talking hurriedly to one another about something in particular. A large group concentrated around the left corner of the corridor; where there was a bulletin board where teachers and selected students (prefects and head boys/girls) would put up a note with the latest news.

The gang got closer to the board and read the news to see what was all the prattle about, and they felt their jaws dropping to the floor.

-The Hogsmeade visit is cancelled!? But it was going to be this Saturday! I was so looking forward to it…

Mary Jane's eyes dropped down to the floor and she gave out a massive sigh afterwards. Gwen could only shrug and give her a sympathetic pat on her shoulder

-And instead of Hogsmeade we're getting a visit...From this new teacher. - Harry squinted his eyes as he read the letter. - Mrs. Octi...I think I've heard of her.

-HEY PARKER!

Pietro Maximoff sped up to where the Gang was, looking interested at the circle of students forming around the bulletin board.

-What you've done, Parker? Messed up even more our chances to win the match? Or you've gotten in trouble again, Osborn? Then again it wouldn't surprise me…

-Oh shut up, Maximoff. I'm not in the mood. - Harry frowned at Pietro's arrogant pose, and how he seemed to look down at the boy.

-Oh really? Well I am in the mood. Your spoiled rich boy attitude doesn't affect me.

Pietro seemed to be about to draw forward his wand, and Peter knew things would get ugly in a minute, so he stood between the two boys before the fight could start.

-We haven't done anything, Maximoff, calm down for once. Go look and read it yourself. - And Peter pointed to the board, while Pietro ran off to look at it. He must have been a very fast reader, because just 10 seconds later he appeared in front of the gang once again.

-I'm gonna go tell Wanda. -He darted off in their opposite direction- Honestly, they're so stupid...

The four looked at the spot where Pietro had been a second ago, and Peter swore the boy had left a trail of silver and emerald as he left, prancing at an accelerated rate.

-He's a huge douche.- Harry furrowed his brow deeply.- I can't stand him.

-Well that isn't anything new.- MJ quipped, looking back at the boy's trail. Harry continued, unamused with MJ's comment.

-He knows he can't enter into the Slytherin common room, right?-

-Wanda allows him. She always passes him the passwords you're given each week.- Gwen answered as she kept searching between her notes.

-How do you know that?- Harry looked at the blonde.

-People like to talk.- She gave a smirk to her friend.- Why don't _you_ know? Wanda's in your house Harry.

-I don't like talking with Wanda. - He gulped and leaned back- She's intimidating.

-Oh, she's not that bad. Granted, I don't _really_ know her, but…

-She always looks too serious and quiet. It's a little unnerving. And the way Pietro…

-Hey Osborn!

A pale haired boy who wore a Hufflepuff scarf called over to the gang from where the student group was reading the bulletin board.

-I know this Miss Octi, she works at the Ministry with your dad doesn't she?

-Hmm I suppose so.

A fat Slytherin boy interrupted their conversation.

-Well then why don't you tell your dad to go tell that bitch to not cancel our Hogsmeade trip? I really wanted to go to Zonko's and she fucked me with that.

-Nice language there. - MJ softly commented while rolling her eyes.

-Yeah, he's the king! Everybody does what he says! - The blonde boy smiled hopefully at his friend's suggestion.

-Don't be stupid Ronald, my dad's not a king.

Mr. Osborn was certainly no king, but the way in which he behaved at times, would lead others to believe that he _was_ one.

Well, there was no point in crying, Peter thought. They still had to finish Jafar's punishment; and either way they would still have their Hogsmeade trip; perhaps some time later, but they were still going. It wasn't like the school was _definitely_ canceling the trips either.

–

It was a good thing that nobody knew the entrance to this room except the twins. Once they had found the cozy abandoned dormitory, they took a hold of it and remodeled it to their like.

He took a hold on the posters of the bed, and she grabbed his hips to get him closer to her. She was panting heavily, as he counted every drop of sweat that was dripping from her face.

He released onto her thighs as she gave out a moan that sounded more like a growling. He quickly moved to her side, leaving behind his gift sprayed over her bare legs and ass.

As she collapsed exhausted on the bed, she turned over and saw Pietro's face smiling back at her.

-How do you feel?

She gave him a questioning glance, locking her eyes with his for a moment. In a quick response he just laid a hand over her own. She understood what he meant immediately.

-They're calm, for now. These days they've come and gone. I think...I think I'm finally able to control it.

And a wide smile appeared on his face; it wasn't one of his arrogant smiles he tended to give to others who tried on his patience, but it was that genuine smile that he just had for her. Even his eyes smiled, twinkling and shining brightly alongside his teeth.

His silence seemed an incentive for her to continue talking, so she gave him what he wanted.

-Miss Albero and I have been working a lot these past weeks. She thinks we've really been improving. Amalthea is also good at it, but I'm surprised how this year I've improved.

The twins looked at each other for a moment, and thought about what could this mean for Wanda's future. Her powers had been her bane for her entire existence, but maybe, sooner more than later, she could finally control them in a way that left her satisfied and hurt nobody.

And yet...Yet...That still had to occur. For now she just had to keep on practicing and honing her skills.

-Dunno if you heard this, but there's news about Hogsmeade…- He began.

-Hmm?

-Apparently they're canceling this year's first visit, and instead some witch from the Ministry will come over and speak to us about something.

She furrowed her brow as her fingers played with the sheets of the bed. Funny, their father hadn't said anything about this or some intervention from the Ministry.

-I think she works for Osborn. - Pietro added.

She turned to look at him again, raising an eyebrow.

-What makes you say that?

-Because she's an important figure at the Ministry, and she would work for that monster.

-Again you and your Osborn obsession. - _Him and Father._ Always rattling about Osborn, whispering his name, his crimes, his theories...Like if he was the center of the Universe.

She paused before continuing.

-He rose himself and his family from the ground…

-...Using the corpses of children as pillars, of course.

No, she'd rather not go there. She knew what he meant, what he was alluding to. All those terrifying stories of the corpses, of the dead, of the Dark Mark stamped over the night sky…His father drawing forward his wand against this man...And _her…_

Wanda closed her eyes, and all those images left her in the moment. This was not the time to think of those unpleasant matters. She was here at Hogwarts, warm and safe and protected against any evil. Lorna was finally here; learning new things, making friends, having a good time and overall happy about it; Pietro was alongside her, loving her, and that was all that mattered.

Her inner thoughts were in her own world apart, as Pietro continued talking without taking notice of the turmoil in her head.

-And Osborn Jr. is a cunt.

-No, not really. He used to, but now he's much more mellow.

-But still…

-I don't care. I don't want to talk about Osborns, or my powers, or Death Eaters, or Erik Lensherr, or dead children. -She caressed his jawline softly – I just want this.

 _This, only this._ It just felt right, in this moment, to be staying there; stranded on their little world, apart from the rest, like a dream one would have as a child.

And swiftly, his hands caressed her softly as his fingers tickled her lips. She gasped for what was about to come.


	10. More secrets?

_I swear if I get caught I'm gonna kill Tadashi._

He was awaiting next to the statue where his brother had told him to wait, and here he was, awaiting any signal from Tadashi or his friends. He was afraid and thought that maybe this was all an elaborate prank, and that Tadashi wasn't thinking of helping him but only trying to get him in trouble again.

He had those negative thoughts until he heard a whistle, and he saw to his left Fred merrily walking down the corridor.

-Fred!

-Hey, little dude! Ssh, not so loud! - The Hufflepuff boy looked everywhere before turning towards Hiro. - You did all that we asked no?

-Yes.

-For how long you've been waiting?

-Dunno...20 minutes I guess.

The blonde boy nodded, and then directed Hiro towards a tapestry that hung on the wall nearest to them, behind Hiro.

-Very pretty don't you think?

Why were they busy staring at a wall? It made no sense. Professor Squidward was gonna appear in any moment and punish them severely.

-Well, Hiro, do you think it looks amazing or what?

-Fred I don't think…

-Would you say it's...fantastical?

Hiro would've responded by saying "i think it looks drab", but he couldn't, as in that moment the tapestry began to move, and a door made of stone appeared behind it. Fred moved the folds of the tapestry and gestured for Hiro to move forward.

The boy gulped, before touching the stone and effectively, entering. The stone moved, and it unlocked a dark passage. Fred entered right behind Hiro at the same time that the door was closing again.

-That was fantastical.- He whispered again, and a loud tremble was heard. Hiro looked back and he didn't see neither the door, nor the second floor, nor the tapestry. Pure darkness engulfed them.

-It disappeared!

-Yes, it has that thing. We change the password most of the time so only we get to know of it. We don't want any unwanted lurkers. So remember Hiro, this is our little secret.

They walked through the tunnel, their footsteps echoing in the darkness. The tunnel was long, and it felt like they were walking for hours, and Hiro was about to ask Fred when would they stop.

Until the light hit them in the face.

The end of the tunnel was a small room, lit with candles, and for some strange reason, electrical lights. Those were _muggle_ electrical lights, something that Hiro found it very strange here in Hogwarts. The whole room had an elegant, clean, slick design; like something one would find in a laboratory than a medieval wizard castle. Tools, drawers, mirrors and chemistry sets were some of the things he found laying around the room

-Hiro! Good to see you arrived well. - Wasabi came behind a drawer and gave Hiro a pat on his back. - Sorry for not being there, but it'd be a little suspicious if we all came forward, so we just sent Fred instead.

The boy was still confused about this, and was still having a hard time understanding the secrecy of the situation

-But, what is all this?

-This, my friend. - Fred answered as he grabbed a sandwich from a table. - This is where magic and science mate and have a baby.

Gogo came behind Fred and tussled the goofy boy's hair.

-What he means is that this is our secret laboratory. Here we come to do...experiments, mixing spells with muggle technology. - The girl glanced at hiro, but he was still very confused about it.

According to the rules, it was forbidden to use muggle technology; in fact, things like phones or radios or computers couldn't properly be turned on due to the low signal and high magical vibes in the air. Hiro had understood that, and as much as it pained him, he left his robots away for a time to instead adapt to owls and parchment and quills.

But then this room came along...And it changed all the perceptions he had about the rules that divided the muggle world from the magical world.

-It's certainly something new, eh? - He turned, and saw Tadashi and Honey carrying a red box into the center of the room. He didn't know what was the box for, but he had an idea that it carried more tools or equipment.

-Are you finally gonna tell me what's happening, or not?

His brother sighed and smiled down at Hiro.

-Yes, but it's a long story.

Fred interrupted:

-It all started with Yen Sid!

-Don't most things start with Yen Sid?- Gogo rolled her eyes at seeing the boy's entusiasm at telling the story, while the other three kids laughed at their reactions.

-But Fred's right. The Headmaster has always been curious about Muggle technology. He's studied so many formulas and different subjects and it amazes him how do muggles do it all without magic! - Honey turned to Hiro, examining him behind her pink glasses.

-So he thought…

-Yeah…

-Of having a special team within the school, who knew of muggle technology beforehand, to try and mix and bend these things with magic.

Hiro turned his head to every member of the team.

-And you're all good with technology?

Gogo shrugged at his question.

-I was good at it at school, in things like motors and fixing cars and bikes. Wasabi and Honey are good at the Chemistry set, and Tadashi is good with medicine and biology.

-Yeah, I know that. -But then his head turned – And Fred?

-Oh no, I admire science, but i'll admit I never really got the gist of it.

-Then why are you here?

The group looked at him with a sheepish grin on their faces.

-Fred entered here by accident, but we couldn't leave him out, so…-Wasabi gave Hiro a forced grin- He's like the secret keeper.

A secret keeper, eh? Well he hoped Fred was good keeping secrets, or otherwise they would be severely punished. But the more he thought of this, the more questions popped up in his head?

-Why is this place a secret?

Tadashi went forward, and motioned for the others to let him explain everything to Hiro. His friends caught what he meant and went on to concentrate on their inventions.

-Well, Hiro, as you know...There is a bit of a struggle between the muggles and the wizarding world.

He just nodded at that. The story was complicated as it was, and he wanted to know more about this than go back to the purebloods and their prejudices.

-But Yen Sid wants to changes. He thinks we can unite the best of both worlds and we can benefit from each other. But it's still frowned upon the wizarding world and the Ministry to look up at muggles, so we had to keep this a secret. The intent of these experiments is to see if magic and science can be compatible.

-And it works?

-Well, Honey can mix in potions and chemistry without a problem, Wasabi has generated a shield spell that can be used by muggles in the form of laser blades, Gogo is seeing if brooms can accelerate in speed, as for me…

He pointed to the box.

-The box has already been invented.

Tadashi just placed a hand near his forehead at his brother's silly comment.

-No, it's what's inside that counts.

He lifted his wand, pointed at the box, and whispered something similar to " _Alohomora"_ and then the box began shaking, trembling, and something...white, like a marshmallow, was slowly coming out of it.

-Hiro, may I present you...Baymax!

–

Madame Octi's speech seemed to go on for hours.

After the staff had publicly announced that they wouldn't visit Hogsmeade that weekend, the teachers instead had insisted at dinner time for the students to get ready for Mrs. Octi's talk and it was obligatory for ALL OF THEM to be there in the Great Hall that Saturday afternoon. If not, then Professor Squidward would have to take some students into detention.

After finishing her dinner Amalthea had walked up to Schmendrick and asked him the details of it, but he couldn't reply without looking confused.

-I'm not so sure, they don't really tell us everything we sometimes want to hear. I'll need to ask a bit more, but…

She wasn't that upset over not going to Hogsmeade, if she was being honest with herself. The small town was nice, but there would be other times for them to visit the town. The only thing she would miss would be seeing Molly early; she missed dearly her friend at the Three Broomsticks and awaited to see her again.

Besides Schmendrick, who was occupied with his classes, and Molly, whom she could only talk with via letters, the only person whom she could talk to was Lir. He must have been happy, then; for now she sometimes went to him in need of talk, when so many years before he had asked her repeatedly for his help, to go running to him if she was ever in need…

The night before Mrs Octi's visit she had spent it in the Gryffindor common room, talking to him and reading a few books here and there. She liked the Gryffindor common room, much more than her own common room. If anything because she liked to look at the unicorn tapestries that adorned the walls. It reminded her of old times, of dreams…

-Do you know of this woman? - She had asked him at a certain moment. He turned and stared at her in a confused manner, as if he couldn't understand her words. He scratched his blonde hair before responding.

-I think my dad would know of her...Yeah, maybe he's heard of her.

-What does she want with the school?- She knew the answer to her question, but she wanted to test him, to see if he was up with these schemes and mysteries.

-...Well, I suppose something related to the Ministry, maybe they just want to update the school in certain aspects.

Those aspects worried her, but she didn't tell him that.

The next day the whole school had assembled in the Great Hall. Lir had insisted on sitting down with her, but she declined; telling him it was expected for all students to sit down at their House tables. Besides, he would be breaking his Head Boy duties if he disobeyed the rules. He understood, and gallantly he left.

And so, the speech had begun. It was slow, and long, very long, and she looked that many kids had fallen asleep while listening to her words. Amalthea herself dozed off at times, but she did manage to catch some of the things the woman was saying. Mainly, that apparently the Ministry was going to be observing the school activities from now on (even monitoring some of the teachers), and that Miss Ursula (as she liked to be called) was going to be their newest teacher (of what course exactly, she didn't say).

All of these news sounded alarming and very distressing. She noted how surprised Schmendrick seemed up from the dais, as if he couldn't believe what the woman was saying.

And there was something in particular that did not sit well with her.

-...And of course, you would be better indoctrinated in assigned classes by myself, to show you to purge the world of any undesirables left, like escaped dark wizards, and violent hybrids.

 _Violent hybrids…_

That sent shivers down her spine.


	11. Hogsmeade

He had evaded much of the punishment he had been given by Jafar; but he figured since he was a first year, it wasn't such a harsh punishment when compared to the detention he gave to older students.

So Jack finished early his punishment and decided to go for a walk. Usually, he would've called for Hiro and the others to do something; but he didn't find them anywhere, so he just had to do things on his own. Which he didn't mind much, if he was being honest. He liked the loneliness.

Still, he had to think properly of what to do next. The next big event in the school would be the Hogsmeade visit, of which the first years weren't allowed to go, but he knew, with just a few careful steps here and there, and maybe help from some folks…

He didn't notice where he was going, though, as he walked down one of the staircases and tripped on the loose step. He felt like falling, and his foot was dangling outside of the stair, caught between the other two steps in the space of the lost one. He wasn't sure on what to do next, if he moved a little bit further he might trip and fall, but he couldn't spend his time waiting with his foot locked in that step...Unless he desired to crush his foot.

"Wow! Are you okay?"

He heard footsteps approaching him, and he raised his head to see two figures getting close to him. The next thing he felt were two pairs of arms holding to his own and pulling him through, slightly shaking him and freeing his leg from the stairs' grip.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?"

"Looks pretty scared to me."

"Hey I'm not scared!"

He turned and gave a close look to his two "rescuers". If they were gonna mock him they should better look at his face.

The two were students, though much older than him; he guessed they were in their sixth or seventh years. And the two seemed to be Gryffindor students, based on their red ties.

One of them was a boy, a tall muscular boy with tanned skin. He seemed to have a problem with hair; based on the huge amount he had in his big arms, the enormous sideburns growing at each side of his face, and his obvious facial hair as well. What Jack found strange about him was the fact that his hair was grey colored, as if was of old age. He wondered if the student was really that old or if it was just some random magical hair dye. Bright green eyes looked down on him from an unimpressed face.

The other part of the duo was a girl. She was a very pretty girl, with straight, long black hair with rainbow colored highlights here and there. She was short and curvy; had dark skin, and bright round eyes...that somewhat resembled pink diamonds.

…Geez, when did he get so _corny_? Pink diamonds indeed! They were of a certain unnatural color, but he wouldn't think they were literal diamonds, either.

He noticed his cheeks were starting to burn, so he simply shrugged it off. He shook his leg to get rid of the small cramps he began to feel on it due to being stuck in the step.

"You should be more careful, kid. Don't you know that these stairs here be hidden with tricks?"

He didn't like the older boy's condescending tone; Jack wasn't a baby for him to speak to him in that way.

"I hope you know that better than I do, wouldn't want to see your feet getting stuck in one of these things."

The older boy had wide, big feet, so that was the thing Jack caught on. The boy didn't like that, though, so he gritted his teeth towards the young Slytherin.

Thankfully the girl noticed what was about to occur, so she stood between the two and said in a jovial tone.

"Well, then, no worries! We all better watch our step next time so we don't get caught in these situations again. I mean, they don't end up hurting you, but they're a little embarrassing." She chuckled and then muttered to herself. "Well something completely embarrassing and _painful_ would be for a door to knock out your teeth...Thankfully that'll never happen...But, you know, knowing the ghosts around here…"

He had been told that the ghosts in the castle were a little mischievous, but Jack hadn't seen them yet. He _would_ like to meet them, though, if only to have some adventures with them.

"Are you okay…?" The girl questioned, looking back at him.

"Uuuh...Yeah! Yeah, i'm okay, okay...I'm Jack."

She nodded slightly.

"I'm Titania, and this is Aster. If you're ever in trouble like that again, you can always call us."

"Just don't call us for useless things."

"Bunny!" She nudged him in the shoulder. "Well, you know, Jack, you can count on us. We have to leave now, but it was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, hum, same thing."

As the two students ascended the stairs while he descended them, she called out to him one last time.

"Well, be more careful next time!"

"Sure thing! You know, how about we meet up next time in Hogsmeade?"

He just then remembered that he wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade, what with being a first year, and he felt utterly dumb once he noticed that; and saw the small giggles erupting from her and that smug smile coming from him.

–

In the last weeks, time passed by; and without further notice the visit to Hogsmeade was already planned for the second weekend of November. The staff thought it'd be the best time for the students to visit Hogsmeade, as it was after Halloween and before the first semester exams. That would give students enough time to relax while also preparing themselves to study.

By then the semester had passed flying; they just had classes, more classes, quidditch practices (for the first match would be in mid-November), Halloween (in which they just simply celebrated the day by eating pumpkin pie through breakfast, lunch and dinner), and Madame Ursula's casual inspections every now and there.

Each student took their time doing their own. Hiro just spent his time dawdling in class with his friends or being marveled at the wonder that was Baymax. Others, like Amalthea, tried their best to distance themselves from Miss Ursula's figure, running away whenever she saw the teacher clad in purple to be close to her, or often skip the classes that she directed. Instead she spent more time with Miss Albero and Wanda, practicing her skills as best as she could; or helping Ralph at times with taking care of the animals, or talking with Lir and Schmendrick whenever they were available (something that Lir tried his hardest to do; to always be there for her).

Finally, the most awaited day had come. Most of the students (the ones with signed permissions, anyway) aligned in front of the castle doors awaiting for them to open, as Professor Tentacles passed in front with a list on his hand, eyeing suspiciously each student.

Well, most of the students. Students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade once they reached third year (and as long as their parents or guardians signed their permissions), so that left the first and second years behind in the castle, looking more depressed than anything else.

Hiro really wanted to visit Hogsmeade. From all the things his brother told him, Hogsmeade seemed to be its own little paradise. A wizard-only village, inhabited only by wizards and witches, and it had its own postal services, bars, candy shops and other...He had even heard that many students came from Hogsmeade, and for them to go to the school it was just a case of walking for some 20 minutes from their house to the castle. He was envious; he wished his house was close to the castle.

But there was no point in being mopey about it. Tadashi and his friends would go, and he would just spend the rest of the day in the castle. Perhaps he could write again to Aunt Cass, or do a little bit of homework in the library, or visit Baymax…

He was thinking of all the options he had until a "psst" distracted him. He looked everywhere, but he couldn't find the source of the sound.

Then he heard it again. And again. And again…

He found the source of the sound behind the statue of a hunchbacked witch, where three shadows hid quietly.

The closer he got to the statue, he noticed who were the owners of those shadows: Jack, Lorna and Vanellope. He was surprised at seeing his colleagues casually hiding behind the statue, and wondering what were they planning to do.

"What are you doing there?" If Professor Squidward caught them, they would be punished until they were in their 20s.

"We've got a plan." Jack whispered. "We're going to Hogsmeade. Wanna join us?"

"What? Hogsmeade? But it's forbidden, if Squidward catches us he'll flay us, we're gonna get in a looot of trouble for this…"

The other three just rolled their eyes at him, with Vanellope casually commenting.

"See? Told ya. We shouldn't have trusted him with this."

Jack just violently shook his head as he turned towards Hiro.

"Look, Hiro, if you don't wanna accompany us, and get to Hogsmeade, and buy some sweets, and see Zonkos, and taste some butterbeer, then be my guest."

He _really_ didn't want to get into trouble again, not with Squidward so close; but at the same time, he soo wanted to visit the magical town, and taste the delicious often spoked about Butterbeer, and see all the secrets and jokes...Damn him, he was as curious as a cat.

"Okay, okay, I'll go! You're such an ass. All of you."

The three smiled widely as they allowed him to hide with them behind the witch. Unbeknownst to him, there was a secret passageway hidden under the feet of the statue, where the kids slid down to get to.

Once they all had slid down and covered the passageway again with a rug and the statue, they walked in the dark corridor, their wands serving as flashlights.

Lorna came closer to Hiro and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Come on, Hiro, this'll be fun! Here, we'll use this map to help us." Lorna took out a yellow parchment from her pockets. "My brother gave it to me before he left to Hogsmeade."

"" _The Traveller's Tales' Map"_? Who wrote this? Your brother?"

"Dunno, he just showed me this a few hours ago. But look." – She pointed towards the map. – "See these little dots? They represent each person in the castle. Their names are just below their dot."

Hiro soon found himself searching for every single little dot; and effectively, soon enough he found the small dot with his name, accompanied by the dots that represented his three friends. He kept searching, and found many other different dots walking around the castle. He spied Yen Sid's dot walking in circles in the principal's office, and Professor Poppins' dot casually talking a stroll trough the greenhouse.

 _Hmm, in the hands of a thief, this would be very useful._

"Where did your brother get this?"

She just shrugged at the question.

"I don't know. He didn't say anything about that." -She frowned.- "But he knew about going to Hogsmeade and he said for us to meet there. He says something that this passage leads right into Honeydukes, and thankfully, Squidward is too dumb and doesn't know about it."

"Hmmm…" -He pondered. - "Are there any other passages to Hogsmeade?" The map only indicated the insides of the castle, so it didn't show the parts of the forest or Hogsmeade, just the borders.

"We think there are, but they are either blocked or Iago has an eye out for them. Well, not all of them, but definitely the majority." Jack commented.

"But we're sure this passage isn't blocked, or at least, that they don't know anything of it."

As they further walked down the passage, evading pieces of rock coming out of the walls; Hiro hoped they knew what they were talking about and this corridor lead to Hogsmeade. Otherwise…

–

She took a deep breath once the doors opened and she was finally out.

It felt refreshing, after staying for many days locked up in the castle, to finally get out and walk for a while. It wasn't the same as walking through the forest, but it was still good.

The slight autumn breeze caressed her cheeks while the leaves blew around the students and the forest animals continued their usual chatter. The weather wasn't too cold or too hot, it was actually pretty good in terms of walking through it.

She covered her shoulders with the shawl she had taken for the trip and walked slowly up the road to the village. She was thinking or where to go first once she arrived at the village, until a voice distracted her.

She turned her head towards where the voice originated from, and she saw her blue clad friend speeding up to her. Schmendrick panted a bit while he placed a hand on his hat.

"The day's doing pretty good, isn't it?"

She looked down to his feet.

"I didn't know you were allowed to come with us."

"Yeah, some of the teachers can. I mean, it was either that or staying and organizing all the schedule for the next classes, and correcting grades, and seeing detention…"

"Sounds exhausting."

"I know, but don't worry, I can handle it."

"Oh I'm not worried." - She said casually while caressing her shawl. She spoke with a tone of extreme indifference in her voice.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. He began whistling as they got closer to the village, he whistled a familiar tune that they had heard, many years ago, but couldn't remember exactly where it originated from.

"What will you do once we're in the village?"

She pondered his question as she casually touched a lock of her hair.

"Well, seeing Molly...And Lir wants to hang out with me, too…" - She didn't sound so enthusiastic about either plan though. Then again, she often sounded weary.

"I have to see Molly too. I still haven't told her about my new job." - He paused as he thought of something. - "Hey, why don't we go and eat something at the Three Broomsticks with her? I'll invite you - we can have a butterbeer and a snack if you want."

"...Sure, that sounds nice." -She turned her head back looking at the distant castle – "What do you think of Ursula?"

He paused as he thought properly the answer to her question. If he was being honest with himself, he found her an overly preachy and faulty teacher; with too much free time in her hands who spent all her time nosing on everyone else's business. Not to mention, he found her bigotry and ignorant views to be quite dangerous if she ever applied them to practice.

But he had to answer to her in a discreet way, unless he wanted strangers listening to his thoughts and getting him in trouble.

"She's...Quite something."

"She won't last long." - Those were her cold words to contrast his own. - "Tries to change the school so it fits her own ideals...But Yen Sid and the old traditions won't allow her. They won't allow for her foolishness and hate to destroy us."

She raised her head, and finally looked him in the eyes. Sea blue clashed against dark lilac, each of them pondering what did this all meant, why were they there, why did she keep that charade up…

 _She's restless, like an animal in a cage...And soon, she'll break that cage, and it won't be pretty._

He placed a hand in her shoulder as a form of comfort.

"Come on, we'll have some sweet butterbeers. Or anything else that might strike your fancy. I just hope they serve kosher at the Three Broomsticks..."

She just nodded silently as they finally arrived to the edge of the town.

–

After walking for what they thought were 20 minutes, they finally arrived at a point in the corridor where light started to show. The kids came to an agreement to walk in a single line, following each other, before separating and each going their own way to Hogsmeade (just as long as they remembered to return back to the castle in the same way).

They arrived at the feet of some stairs that had been built over a side of a wall. The steps seemed rather steep and narrow, but easy to climb. It helped that the children were small, so it fitted into the staircase easily. Jack when first, and after he climbed the first 20 or so steps he called out for the others to follow him, telling them it was okay to climb.

After 10 minutes of climbing, Hiro began panting. It was a long climb, and he was starting to feel heavy. But he couldn't rest, since the steps didn't afford much space for one to hold on, and if he got distracted he would probably fall down.

40 more steps...30...21...12…He lost the count as they continued ascending, lost in the stairs and no longer thinking about the tunnel or the witch or secret passage. They were in complete darkness, just a few steps ahead of total blindness if it wasn't for the small light of Vanellope's wand.

And yet...The more they climbed, the more they could see a small light ahead. At first it had seem nothing but a small shimmer, but as they kept on climbing, it seemed to grow in size and clarity…

The light originated from a small storeroom, which was the final destination of the stairs. It lead them right into the floor of the storage, the entrance hidden under a pair of fake wooden planks carefully placed on the floor, to camouflage with the other planks.

The storage wasn't anything special, as the four kids inspected it closely once they came out of the passage. It was just a small, poorly lit room, with discarded and unpackaged boxes everywhere. It smelled of humidity and moss, and something else that Hiro thought it to be sweat.

"Ok, so, this is over. I think now we're actually in Hogsmeade." - Jack declared. There was a sense of confidence in his voice, but his body seemed a little nervous, based on the way he looked around the room turning his head at a fast pace.

"Yes, but, what part of Hogsmeade?" - Lorna asked. - "The map doesn't show anything."

Hiro turned over to take a closer look at the map, and effectively, she was right. The map still seemed to work, based on the little moving dots he saw walking the parchment; but the scenery was still of the castle and its surrounding grounds. He didn't see anything that resembled the wizarding village.

"Maybe...If we followed the stairs…" -Vanellope pointed to a small staircase they hadn't noticed yet, and noticed a small trapdoor at the top. Maybe a door leading to a house, or a store, or even precious Honeydukes, as they had wondered before. So they climbed the stairs, one step at a time, and carefully opened the trapdoor…

It was like if they had immersed themselves into a storybook. There was a bright light over all the store, and bright burning colors decorated half of the shop. Lively colored candy was kept in glass jars that were found in every table and counter. The cotton candy machine was working at full time, and the cotton made there turned from purple, to blue, to pink. There was a tray that carried sugar frosted mice shaped cookies that for some strange reason happened to walk! And yet nobody seemed surprised by that, at least not in the shocking way.

The kids noted the store was filled with students, so they ventured if they could casually leave the trapdoor, they wouldn't be noticed by anyone, neither the owner nor the lady clerk. Lorna said she didn't see her brother nor her sister, yet her brother had been the one to encourage her to leave; so she guessed they wouldn't mind this. Jack didn't see the two elder students who had helped him the other day, and Hiro didn't spot Tadashi and his gang anywhere. _That's a good thing. Otherwise he would flay me for breaking the rules._

"C'me on, what are we waiting for!? These sweets are calling us!" Vanellope cried, and the others agreed as they ventured further into the store, getting lost in the candy and the magic.

–

While the kids hadn't seen anyone they knew in Honeydukes, there actually were a few familiar faces in the store...

"Wow, this is so magical! It feels like the Willy Wonka factory!" Butters, the blonde Hufflepuff kid from before cried in amazement at the wonders that the store of Honeydukes displayed.

Harry looked up at the kid curiously. It wasn't like he was spying on him, since the kid had proclaimed that as loud as possible, yet still….

"" _Willy Wonka"_? Who's that?"

"It's a popular muggle children's book, about candy and sweets and a chocolate factory." Gwen answered her friend's question quickly. "It was one of my favorite stories as a kid. I liked watching the movie with my dad." She turned to face Harry again, her eyes glistening with a bright idea. "Hey, maybe we could watch it one day, if you feel like it."

Harry still was getting used to muggle movies, after the others showed him some for the first time in the second year; and yet while he found them odd, he found there was also a certain charm to them. He just found that he liked a lot watching them and wanted to repeat the experience as many times as possible. He was just so curious about movies, how they were made, how did muggles achieve to create such fantastical worlds and stories without magic…

"Sure, why not?" The two nodded at each other until Gwen directed her attention to assorted red and blue candy on display.

"Which do you think tastes better? The red ones are kinda peppery but I like the coolness of the blue ones."

"Peter likes them all." He turned towards the boy in question, who was more focused on the jawbreakers and chocolates of Honeydukes than anything else.

Gwen gasped in that moment, suddenly remembering something.

"What time is it? I promised I'd go with the girls to Malkin's shop. We were supposed to meet up at Podifoot's tea shop at 2 p.m…"

"Well..."- He checked his watch. - "It's ten to two."

"Oh no!" She turned and left the candy and looked again at Harry before leaving the store. "Okay, we'll see each other later. At the 3 Broomsticks at 5 pm? I'll bring MJ with me."

He vaguely shrugged.

"Yeah, sure, why not."

Gwen smiled radiantly at him as she skipped towards the door and left the candy shop. He was happy for her, and for the fun evening she would have with her girl friends. Now, _he_ had to make his evening fun…

Peter came back carrying a bag full of chocolates.

"I think I found ones that everyone would like. Also- " - He smirked. - "a surprise for Flash."

He turned towards where Gwen had been a second ago, and titled his head curiously.

"Hum, did Gwen go to the bathroom or something?"

"Nope, it was time for the girls to go out. And now we're two losers stuck with a bag full of candy."

"Yeah, but…" -Peter's eyes flicked with the ever so wonderful promise of mischief. - "We ARE two losers stuck with a bag full of candy."

 _Oh._ The young Osborn understood what he meant, and gave him a wicked grin in response.

–

"Here it is, miss. Sure you don't want it wrapped? It's such a nice cover…"

"No, please. It's just for me."

The bookkeeper then gave her the purchased book, and Wanda left the bookshop with a large smile on her face. As she walked out into the wintery streets of Hogsmeade, she felt her heart tingle alongside with the shop's alarm bell. Oh how she awaited to return to her room, sit down on her bed and start reading her book…

It didn't take her long to feel a slight breeze passing by close to her, and she turned to see her brother right next to her, carrying a bag full of sweets from Honeydukes.

She raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"You raided the store so it seems." - Their father would be disappointed if he knew Pietro spent all his money on candy...And sandwiches for that matter. He noticed the questioning look she gave to the sandwich in his hand, and he defended his position.

"It's kosher, don't worry about it...Besides this is my money. What's so wrong with spending it on stuff like chocolate and jawbreakers?"

 _He doesn't get it._ Candy was sweet, yes, but it barely lasted. And she would've preferred for her brother to start investing and saving money for the future. It could have sounded like a stereotype, but it was just in everyone's best interests for him to not end up alone and hungry on the streets.

Pietro titled his head as he gave a closer look to the book in Wanda's hands.

"Another book?"

"It's one of my favorite stories." - Wanda looked back tenderly at the book.- "Beauty and the Beast is a classic."

"That's a muggle story right?"

She gave him the same tender look she gave to the book, mixed in with a bit of nostalgia on the side.

"Don't you remember? Mama used to tell us stories like this all the time."

This story, and also Little Red, the Three Wolves, the little Bull Calf...Back in her youth Wanda was entranced by all these stories. Now that she knew about the magical world, she felt in a way closer to them than ever before.

"I think it's a weird story." - He shrugged. - "Who would fall in love with an ugly hairy beast?"

"Well, maybe she saw something in him that others didn't. Maybe he was sweet and caring despite being "ugly"." - She passed a hand over the leather bound cover of the book; the way Pietro looked at her, it seemed as if he was expecting her to kiss the book. _No, he can't get jealous of a book, can he?_ She let out a silent chuckle.

She turned towards him and gave him a soft smile.

"Perhaps I'll read it to you someday...When you'll feel romantic."

"Ah-hah? And when would that be?"

She shrugged as she got closer to him.

"In a month, a year, two decades…"

He playfully nudged her forearm, while sporting a smirk on his face. He tended to be the funny one of the two, not her; yet she liked at times changing roles with him...Funny, if somebody else had said that, he would soon put them in their place. But when it came to Wanda...Wanda could get away with anything. He allowed her too much.

"C'me on, let's go to the Shrieking Shack."

The twins walked towards the abandoned building, said to be one of the most haunted houses in the world. In truth, what they heard about it was just idle gossip and legends, since they had never seen any strange activity surrounding the place. And yet, Wanda imagined that these stories must have had a base of truth in them, otherwise why propagate the false story?

 _Because people prefer lies to the truth, the truth is often underwhelming compared to a fantasy._ She pursed her lips as she pondered on that thought.

The shack looked old and worn and dusty in the sunlight as they approached it. It seemed as if no one had ever ventured into the shack, and for good reasons. The place looked desert, hostile and creepy; a little bit more and the folks would've added a graveyard to the house for an extra spook factor.

But something sweeter caught her attention over the house.

"Oh, look at the birds."

A couple of tiny bluebirds and robins were chirping around and walking in the grass close to them, pecking the ground in search of food. Wanda grew a smile on her face as she thought of something.

"Give me pieces of your sandwich. Just the bread." - She grabbed the bread, crushed it in her hands until it turned into crumbs of various sizes, and then she kneeled and slightly raised her hand with the bread in the direction of the birds, and waited.

The birdies seemed to notice what she did, as they chirped and walked closer to her, timidly at first, but then gained courage and started climbing in Wanda's arm.

"Come on, you try it." - She turned to her brother with that lazy smile on her lips. He tried, encouraged by her words, until the birds' talons started raking his arms and the feathers made him sneeze.

"Pesky little things." - He muttered sourly. She just chuckled at the image he presented.

"I think they're adorable."

Pietro shrugged as he dropped the last feather to the ground.

"Well, they're much cuter than Iago, that's true...What's the male form of bitch?"

"Dunno...Bastard?"

"Good enough for me." - He paused. - "Jafar is a bastard."

"Oh really? What makes you say that?"

He licked his lips anxiously before continuing.

"I think he was a Death Eater back in the day."

She rolled her eyes at that.

"We've been through this before. Father didn't find him among them, so he can't be one."

Her brother was still obsessed with the whole deal regarding Death Eaters; it wasn't enough for him to theorize over Osborn, he had to go after innocents too.

"But maybe he has a mark under the sleeves, maybe just recently he joined Her army…"

"No, I don't believe so."

Wanda didn't want to continue this chat; the day was too beautiful to spend it wasting time thinking about possible Death Eaters and traitors conspiring against each other. It'd be better to change the subject.

"The Shrieking Shack doesn't look too bad in the sun."

"No, it just looks abandoned." - He looked at either side of the street before he got closer and smirked to his sister – "Wanna get closer to the Shack?"

"What? Nooononono. That place is cursed. I'd rather not anger the ghosts."

"Ghosts are dead. They can't say or do anything to us." - He tried to plant a soft kiss on her lips, but she turned away roughly before he even had the chance. They were out in public, anyone could see them, he shouldn't be so careless…

He turned away, looking at his watch and then back at the Shack.

"I gotta go back, I remembered I have to do something."

"Do what? Practice with the team? Attend your fangirls?"

He smirked at her words, and tugged a loose curl she had.

"It's a surprise." And he ran off, with the Honeydukes candy floating right behind him. Wanda just shook her head as she began reading her book. Whatever it was that Pietro was planning, it could surely wait…

–

Hiro had managed to pass off in the crowd without calling out much attention.

Sure, he felt a bit a lost the moment the others abandoned him, but he was a smart kid; and he knew how to move on his own. And it wasn't like Hogsmeade was a wide and disorganized town, either.

Once he left Honeydukes with his own bag of candy, he passed by the owlry and checked out some of the owls they sold. _None of them are as cute as Yuki though._ But that was just biased thinking, since he just preferred to pamper his own owl over the others.

He was thinking of what to do next, perhaps to visit the Three Broomsticks, until two loud, recognizable voices called out for him.

"HIRO!"

That was it, he had been caught; he was going to be punished and it was going to be his doom. Tadashi and Aunt Cass would be so upset...Until he felt a friendly, gentle hand pat him on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here, Hiro?" Honey Lemon's bright voice was heard in the clear air above him. A girl with a purple streak smirked at him as she got closer to the boy.

"Playing hooky I see?"

Gogo and Honey were sweet, but they were still older than him, and each of them had their own responsibilities to attend to at school. If they caught a first year on Hogsmeade…

"Please don't tell Tadashi."

The two girls chuckled at his exasperated expressions, the boy clutching his hands tightly and looking at the duo pleadingly.

"You're not the first first year who's ever crossed into Hogsmeade." Gogo whispered as she ruffled his hair.

"But it is risky, Hiro. Some teachers also like to come in these trips and could see you...Not to mention Tadashi…"

"Where is he?"

"Looking at the Flourish and Blotts store we have here." Gogo turned from one side of the street to the other. "Quick, grab my coat."

He knew she meant innocently but still...

"What?"

"And stick these on the soles of your shoes." - The girl then gave Hiro two used lollipops.- "Walk with them. It'll make you look taller."

Hiro didn't know why, but as soon as he was told, he did so. It felt weird, and kinda sticky, to walk with lollipops stuck to your feet, but apparently this was the only way he could go unnoticed. He knew Tadashi wouldn't be fooled by this poor disguise, but he hoped at least this was enough to trick the teachers.

"So, does that work?" - Honey casually whispered in his ear, and just then he noticed how the trick worked. Honey had always been tall, but now thanks to his disguise he was only a head smaller than her.

"Very…" - He cleared his throat.- "Very well." A sudden urgency took over his body; if he was trying to play someone older he should _sound_ older. Yet that did not seem to impress their girls, based on their following giggles. Gogo gave him a wink.

"As you say, Mr." She changed the subject as they turned over a street. "Where are you thinking of going, anyway?"

"...I've just never been to Hogsmeade, and I got curious..."

"You want to visit the whole town? It's not that big, but it does have a few nice things here and there." Honey interjected. "Gogo and I have just been in the broom equipment store."

"You like brooms, Honey?"

The tall girl gave him a thin smile.

"They're nice, but Gogo's a bigger fan than I am." The two girls smiled at each other for her remark. "But we were just going to the drugstore next, I need some new ingredients for my potions."

Potions, of course. Hiro grimaced at the thought of that dreadful and its obnoxious teacher. If only there was some way he could get rid of it…

"Where are Wasabi and Fred?" Changing the conversation seemed like the better option.

"Oh, they're with your brother."

"If you want we can have a drink later."

"But I'm a minor."

"Butterbeer has no alcohol. You won't even get drunk." Honey suddenly paused reflecting on something. "But the Three Broomsticks is always so overcrowded..."

"I know a place, not that far off, where it's a little small, but they serve just as good as the Broomsticks, and it's not filled to the bone with people."

Well, it was a plan at least, and a plan that sounded good…

–

The curly haired waitress smiled widely as she saw the two visitors enter the Three Broomsticks.

"Why I'll be double cursed, about time you showed up!"

Molly left the tray near the stand and went up to the two, first giving a strong hug to the white haired girl.

"It's so good to see you…Final year huh? It's always the most exciting year...And stressful too." Amalthea nodded. Molly had already done her years at Hogwarts, so she knew more than anyone else when it came to this.

The woman stopped hugging the girl to then focus on the lanky Schmendrick, and a thin smile crept up her lips.

"You've certainly been quiet this summer...What, do you have to repeat a year?"

He shook his head, making his blue hat tremble.

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just...How about we catch up in a seat? I'm really thirsty, I could do with some butterbeer."

She nodded as she went back to the stand. The Three Broomsticks was always a warm and welcoming place, always open to offer shelter to those who needed it, the hungry and cold. Sure, there were other pubs in Hogsmeade, but none where as comfy as the Broomsticks was. Of course, there was always the Hog's Head and other unknown pubs, but based on what they heard, the students preferred to not venture into it.

Molly the brunette came back with a tray filled with different delicious goods. Two butterbeers, a sandwich and what seemed like a blueberry muffin. She laid it on the table the two had selected to sit down and talked as they served themselves.

"Well, tell me how things are doing back at the castle."

Molly had finished school a few years ago, but working had seemed to age her a lot more than it should. A tired face hung from beneath a mat of dark mahogany hair that seemed to cry in despair for a comb. She always preferred wearing more practical robes over anything fancy, and her now brown robes held some stains here and there from the carrying of different drinks and foods. The years had been harsh for her, and work was tiresome; her face showed the starkness of it clearly.

Yet when she spoke and moved, she still had the fire and spirit of a young child; ready to pounce at the world ahead.

"Here's as you like it. Two cold butterbeers and a little snack."

"Gee, thanks." 

"Thank you, Molly." She bit the muffin, the soft and chewy texture holding on to her mouth for a few seconds.

The brunette placed a hand under her chin and looked suggestively at her friends.

"So, tell me, what's been going on over there? Surely Yen Sid's been thinking on new crazy spells or Ralph's brought over another dragon."

"No dragon, as of yet, but the other day a boy got horribly scarred by one of his spiders..." Schmendrick drew near the orifice of his bottle to his lips, like tasting the drink for the first time.

Amalthea shook her head at his words.

"It wasn't that fatal, Madame Pomfrey managed to cure him in time, he got better..."

Molly shook her head as well, with a sour expression forming in her face. She closed her eyes while frowning.

"Ralph's always had this nasty habit. Thinking it's a neat idea to bring to the school all kinds of creatures and beasts and let them loose..."

It was true, but people did not like to oppose the giant. Besides that big problem, he was probably one of the kindest and most approachable of the staff. Well, when compared to Jafar, Squidward or now Ursula...

Schmendrick continued the conversation without derailing; after all, one could think of Ralph only so much.

"Yen Sid's been doing his usual, he's been kinda secretive as of late, but in these last weeks we've got a new teacher." He furrowed his brow at that. "She came in late! Would you believe that? And she's a Ministry's wench, as well."

"Oh, those people. And how is she?"

Amalthea pursed her lips while Schmendrick sighed.

"...Terrible is too soft a word for her."

"She's a bigot, and intent on brainwashing the children."

"And horribly incompetent at teaching. I'm pretty sure the Ministry loaded her on Yen Sid, and he just had to accept."

Molly shook her hands in front of them defensively.

"Don't talk to me about Ministry folks. The other night Cully and I had to care of a few, and they scared half the customers away. Even the poor elves got terrified by them."

And she pointed to the left, where the stairs led up to the second floor of the pub. At the feet, a small house elf looked on dourly at the floor while he nursed a bottle in one hand and had the other under his chin. He sighed from time to time as he rose the bottle to his lips.

"Wait..." -Schmendrick's eyes widened inmensely.- "House elves work here!?"

"Some do." -The waitress shrugged.- "The ones who want to work, anyway. Others just lounge around. Daly there, he's been a bit down as of late, though I think he's always been a little lazy."

"But you pay them?" Her voice lingered softly, but Amalthea's eyes looked at Molly expectantly, awaiting for her answer.

"...Some of them do. But we do pay them the best, with the most we have."

Amalthea just closed herself in. She should by now get over this small issue, but there was still this doubt and feeling of defeat clinging on to her chest, a beast crawling over her lungs.

Her friends seemed to note her discomfort, so the blue wizard changed the subject.

"But that's not all. We have a new teacher this year."

"Oh really?" - Molly's eyes, tiny beetles under her mat of hair, sparkled after hearing those words.- "Who is it? Betcha ol' Jafar's croaked and they found his replacement."

"Nope!" A cheshire grin appeared under his nose. "You could say you know him...For a long time..."

"...Ralph?"

"Ralph!?" He puffed as he dramatically moved his hands. "Ralph of all people!"

His reaction brought a chuckle out of her; the wizard's indignation being worthy of a play.

"But, you don't say...Oh, Schmendrick, congratulations!" She held him in a bear hug for a few minutes.

"You were teasing me!"

"Of course, that was just a little joke. You don't mind some small joke, oh great Schmendrick?" She bowed mockingly in front of him, while he just puffed again, though Amalthea could see a smile curling on the side of his face.

"What are you teaching?" 

"Oh it's…-"

"Hey waitress, you gonna pass me my ale or not? I don't have all day, as if!" A scream alarmed them. One customer on the far right of the pub screamed at the trio, gesturing aggressively with a hand. Molly fumed as she rose from the table leaving her friends behind.

"I'll be back in a second, just wait..."

And she left the two alone again. Schmendrick took off his hat and passed a hand over his hair as he talked.

"It's good to see she's taking it well." Amalthea murmured. The muffin only had a small bite mark of hers on one side of it, barely touched.

"Wish the same could be said for us."

"Things'll get better, don't worry." Again that comforting hand of his on her shoulder. He meant good, he truly did, she knew that; but sometimes a hand was just a hand.

–

"Did you two spend the whole afternoon eating candy?" MJ crossed her arms over her chest in a playful manner, despite her tone of voice sounding reproaching.

The girls had finished with their shopping, and as they promised they met up with the boys. Yet they didn't find the boys there, so they kept looking for them until they found them at the entrance at Honeydukes. The two of them sat on the sidewalk with their backs resting on the store's wall under the window display, holding their bellies while a bag rested in between them.

"Bah!" Harry lazily waved his arm over his belly, while Peter tried his best to mutter a response.

"I think I've turned blind..."

Harry and Peter found the prospect of eating all the candy too tempting, and they figured they didn't have much else to do during the rest of the afternoon after they passed through the broom shop and Peter bought what he needed for quidditch and checked Zonkos for a moment. They just found the candy so delicious, so seductive...Wait, seductive candy? That doesn't sound right…

Gwen made a sound with her tongue as she approached the boys.

"Don't you know better than to waste all your money on candy and stuff yourself like that? Then you'll get cavities, and you'll waste more money, and it'll be painful..."

"It's worth it." The boys said in unison.

The blonde simply rolled her eyes as she looked back at Mary Jane.

–

The pub was certainly wide, but there was no point in talking about its wideness when the insides looked like the dungeons of some medieval torturer. It smelled of decadence, of sweat and shit and other things Hiro preferred to not think of. A layer of dust laid over all the tables and chairs, and Hiro spotted more than a few cobwebs decorating the ceiling and corners. Abandonment poured out of every nook and cranny from this place.

Hiro looked back at the girls, and he noticed how even Honey Lemon seemed to hold back a gag.

"Gogo, I'm not sure this'll work, the Hog's Head is..."

"It's the perfect place." The short girl answered, raising a finger and pointing to the nearest table. The trio sat close, hoping to pass off unnoticed, but the few customers on the pub did manage to catch a glimpse of them. A small group with strange-looking men stared at them for a few minutes before returning to their own things. Hiro did not like the mens' stares, it felt as if goosebumps were pricking his skin.

"What it'll be, lads?" The waiter, an old man with a scruffy black beard, asked as he approached the new costumers.

"Just three butterbeers, please." The waiter nodded as he went back behind the counter. Meanwhile, Gogo took a long look at Hiro.

"Here you can talk about whatever you want, Hiro."

"But, what if somebody..." He sighed pensively.

"People of Hogwarts don't like coming here. The place is a bit...down."

 _That's a nice way of saying it._

"But the food is still good!" Honey Lemon seemed to try her best to point out the positives of this situation. While Gogo listened to her friend rambling on, Hiro focused his eyes on the odd men that looked at him a few minutes ago. The odd blonde one kept staring awkwardly at him with one eye bigger than the other; something about him made his skin shudder.

He turned his back once again and focused his attention on the girls. He thought back on what Gogo had said earlier, _here you can talk about whatever you want._ What did she mean by that exactly? Could he rant about Squidward, or that nasty Madame Octi? There were so many possibilities...And too many listening ears for that matter.

"Gaby, let it go." That finally seemed to shut Honey Lemon's monologue, though the tall girl looked on anxiously at her friend.

"Gaby?" Hiro questioned.

"My real name's Gabriella, Gaby. But ever since Freddie called me Honey Lemon we've all stuck with it."

"It fits you better." Gogo commented with a raised finger.

"Only because I like to drink tea a little too much..."

"It makes more sense than Gogo."

"Yours is also a nickname?"

She nodded.

"I'm Ethel."

He saw why everybody would prefer Gogo; Ethel sounded like an old lady's name. Nothing wrong with old ladies, but certainly not fitting for the passionate quidditch captain.

"It's nice!"

She just shook her head.

"I suppose."

The barman came back with the butterbeers and laid them in front of them.

"Aye, enjoy them lads." On the way he slightly tripped on a lose wooden floorboard, which made him curse under his breath.

"Millions of thousands of blue..."

Gogo raised her bottle and toasted.

"Cheers, for you Hiro."

"Let's hope you pass a great time here! We've certainly have."

"Yeah, sure!"

And their bottles clanked at the same time. Then the head of the bottle went to his lips...And he _wowed_ out loud.

It was so good! Not only the taste but the soft bubbly texture of the drink, how the bubbles tickled his throat as they went down…

"This is amazing!" His reaction made the girls laugh, he figured he looked quite ridiculous now.

"Yes, butterbeer has this energizing effect on people. Curious, isn't it, child?"

Hiro turned to where the voice came from, and effectively, the strange man had been the one that spoke. He kept eyeing Hiro with his lime green eyes, and it seemed at any moment that he would rise from his chair and approach the group.

Thankfully, a nudge in the ribs from one of his comrades evaded him from leaving his table, and soon enough he began chatting with the other men accompanying him.

Hiro turned again to the girls, expecting a response to that queer event.

Gogo just shook her head.

"There are lots of weirdos around here. As long as you don't give in to them, you'll be alright."

"Yeah, I once heard of a guy whose face got scarred in a fight here." Honey whispered. "But I don't think that barman could scar anyone. It could've just been a typical bar brawl..."

"Regardless..." Gogo began. "I think this is the perfect place. Rant about Ursula or Squidward all you want, Hiro."

"Oh, well..." He took a quick glance over the bar before beginning. "Yes, they're horrible teachers, the two of them. Squidward only punishes me and sneers at my face and I don't understand half the things Ursula says."

"Well, she's not teaching, that's the thing."

"The Ministry loaded her on us, it's something that's come up since summer."

What Honey said was true, based on a few of the newspapers Hiro had read over the summer, but he still didn't know the exact details about it.

"Since summer?" 

"Yes, Yen Sid's been fighting with the Ministry ever since last June. Last year there were a few complications, a few things went loose..."

"Don't forget about the thing of the missing wills."

"That as well." Honey nodded. "The Ministry and the Prophet wouldn't stop nosing around the school, and come this woman who complains about the "poor state" the school is in and how Yen Sid allows such dangerous things to happen here. You remember that kid who got bitten by a spider a few months ago? It's not the first time that's happened."

Hiro took in all the information slowly as he sipped on his butterbeer. So the Ministry believed there was something fishy going on around here, Yen Sid was hiding something and the Ministry was sending spies…

 _Well, as long as they don't know about Baymax..._ Their cover was safe as long as they kept it a secret, but with strangers nosing around every corner of the castle, it wouldn't be long before the lab was discovered.

"What is up with Yen Sid anyway?"

Gogo looked to her sides before whispering.

"Yen Sid's one of the greatest wizards ever known, most of the goods of our community can be thanked to him, but he keeps a lot of things to himself. He's certainly old, Hiro, and you can guess he's lived a long life."

"And made many friends and enemies along the way." - Honey added. - "Even we don't know much, but we have an idea. And much of Yen Sid's methodologies are...questionable, by figures of authority outside the school. They think it's dangerous, and they agree we shouldn't mend so much with...hybrids."

"Hybrids?"

"Werewolves, mermaids, faes, and other people like that. Offspring of humans with strictly magical creatures, or a person like a werewolf, with a "mythical" condition of sorts."

"But that's beyond any person's control!"

He spoke too loud at the last, and he knew that well, based on the alarmed expressions the old barman and the odd trio were giving them. But the situation was bleak, and demanding as all hell, so why shouldn't he scream?

"Yes, but try telling her that."

"I will. I'll ask her that exactly even if it means I'll be pun..." He suddenly remembered he had accorded to meet with the others on time to go back through the tunnels. "What time is it!?"

"Well, it's five past 6..."

At that he ran out of the bar, not caring that he bumped into his table when getting out or alarming the girls in the process.

"Weirdo." One of the men of the trio sneered.

–

Her rainbow locks glimmered in the sunlight.

He spotted them by accident, as he was about to enter a store, and he felt the biggest urge to run over to Titania and Aster and call for their names, but he just remembered he couldn't do so. They just met him, after all, and they were still strangers; if they caught a first year playing around on Hogsmeade, who knew what would the punishment be.

Even then, he had to just content himself by looking aside all the time. Not that he cared much, since he still had an enjoyable trip: he visited Honeydukes, Zonkos, and even managed to catch a glimpse out of the Shrieking Shack. Not bad overall; he would've preferred to make a few pranks here and there, but he had to keep himself low-key as of now.

Jack sighed annoyed as he waited on the entrance of Honeydukes. He had accorded to meet up with the others of the gang to return to the castle the way they came, but it seemed as of now he was the only one punctual. It was a worrying situation, because he could be caught at any moment now…

"You'd better be going on your own."

A voice distracted him off his thoughts, and he turned towards it. A lanky boy with scruffy black hair, maybe one or two years older than him; was looking pensively at him. Judging by the red scarf he wore, he was a Gryffindor; probably a third year or a second year kid. In his hands he carried a small trinket, presumably a buy from Zonkos.

"What are you on, kid?" Funny, for Jack to call the older boy a "kid". He didn't seem to mind the way he spoke, though.

"Oh, you're not the only one who uses the tunnels." A small smirk appeared on his thin lips, one that told more than words did.

Was their secret uncovered? And the foursome had taken so much care for them to not be seen...But Jack figured somebody else gave off the alarm. Maybe Lorna or her brother, or Vanellope babbling on as usual, or Hiro…

Jack turned to both side before talking again.

"Don't tell anybody."

At that the boy chuckled loudly, enough for some curious bystanders look on surprised at him.

"Aaw, but even I use them all the time! You shouldn't worry about it." He got closer to Jack and motioned for the boy to approach him as well. Next, he whispered into the first year's ear.

"Call your other friends, and follow me. I know of another way we can return to the castle without any problems."

Jack wondered if it was a good idea to trust this individual. He could be a mole, for all he knew; sent by the teachers to spy on him. But on the other hand, very few knew of secret passages, so…

"Jack!" A voice cried. Lorna was running alongside the sidewalk, and paused a few feet away from him to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry for being late, but I just finished being with Pietro...He's glad we found the way out, but Wanda was less than pleased about it. She still didn't say anything, but I bet..." Just then she noticed the stranger amongst them. "Who is he?"

"...Someone we can trust."

"I'm Mowgli."

"...Oh, hello."

Based on her raised eyebrows and shy arms, she still mistrusted the boy. He didn't blame her for it, since he began doubting it was such a good idea to trust this boy.

"I think I've seen you around the common room."

"…Yes, you're right! You're that boy who's always bringing weird animals to the common room."

"They're not weird, if not Ralph wouldn't breed them."

On the other corner of the street, Hiro and Vanellope were coming along.

"Just in time!" - Lorna paused as the duo got closer to them. - "...Hiro, are those candy on your feet?"

"...It's a long story. So, are we all set?"

"Yep, but Mowgli says he knows a way..."

"Who?"

"Me." The new boy waved his hand.

Hiro looked at him as if he had swallowed a watermelon whole and then turned to Jack.

"This was our secret! What'll happen if he goes and moles out to the teachers!?"

"Relax! He says he knows about these tunnels, and knows a new way out." Hiro looked pensively at him, but he didn't say anything. The boy just assumed he would go along with whatever new plan Mowgli would come up.

"Follow me, it's right up the hills, near the Shack. And be quick." The foursome followed in the boy's footsteps (Hiro stopping first to get rid of the candy stuck in his soles) until they arrived at the end of the street and turned left, where they left the town behind and spotted the Shriecking Shack a few miles away.

"Wait." Lorna paused suddenly, her feet dusting up at the same time. "We can't go there. My siblings were there some moments ago. Besides, the place is haunted!"

She _did_ have a point, even though Hiro wondered if the rumors of the house being haunted were true after all or just a ruse.

"The castle's filled with ghosts, yet you guys get scared of an old abandoned shack?" Mowgli teased.

Well, he _did_ have a point there.

"There's still Wanda and Pietro..."

"They probably left some time ago." Vanellope reasoned. "What can you do in that place besides looking at it? The entrance is forbidden."

"True, but some people like to watch out. Like those two guys."

What did he mean with that remark? The Gryffindor boy was as confusing as he was mysterious.

"What two guys?" Jack asked.

"Those two weird guys, all in black, that were wandering around the town. You saw them didn't you?"

Hiro suddenly remembered the odd looking trio at the bar. Would this duo be aligned with them?

"You've seen them?"

"Yeah, they've been all afternoon monitoring us. Not us, just the students on a whole. I thought they could be teachers or assistants, but I can't recall seeing them before in the castle."

Mowgli stopped in his tracks and motioned for the others to follow him. He pointed to the Shack, which was just in front of them. Now that he was closer, Hiro didn't find it to look as menacing as it did in the distance.

"Now we just have to enter the house and go to the basement."

"But...the ghosts!"

"Look at it, the place is empty. And i'm pretty sure these ghosts that even more harmless than Sir Headless Nick."

"Nearly Headless."

"Whatever."

The place was empty. Presumably Lorna's sister and brother eventually returned to the village to walk back to the castle, yet that did little to ease Lorna's doubts.

The group jumped over the small fence that surrounded the house and strutted over to the left side of the Shack, following what Mowgli was doing. He paused at an old wooden door, and casually tugged the rusted handle. At that, the door immediately opened.

Jack's eyes were as big as saucers.

"How can you do that? Isn't it protected by magic or something?"

"Nobody comes over to check this place, and I guess there's nothing of value for thieves to steal. So…"

"You think it was the ghosts, Lorna?" Vanellope winked at the green-haired girl, who simply looked annoyed at her friend's quip.

"I still believe they exist. All rumors come from a source of truth, right?"

"Perhaps." Mowgli answered as they entered into the empty house. A coat of dust covered all of the furniture and every inch of the place, and the dust soon made the kids sneeze. It was an old and decaying picture, but nothing of it seemed "spooky".

The group descended a flight of stairs that lead directly to the basement of the house, where they spotted a wide hole in the ground. Something about it seemed to reek, based on the strong odor that emanated from it.

"So?"

"So, we go down there, it'll lead us right out to the gardens of the castle."

"It stinks."

Mowgli laughed as he grabbed a pole that laid on a wall. He stirred the pole into the hole and pushed it towards the left.

"You better believe it smelled worse when I arrived here the first time."

Suddenly, a green goo jumped out of the hole, and it splashed on to the ceiling. The kids yelped in alarm, but they calmed down as they saw that the goo stood still.

"Okay, are you guys ready?"

The Gryffindor boy pointed to the hole, where a small set of stairs appeared. The kids at first approached the hole weary, but seeing as how neither ghosts nor goo were attacking them, they just simply kept on walking.

Hiro was certainly curious about the matter of the house, and how did Mowgli manage to know all about it, so he just went and simply asked him. He felt the boy was already trustful.

"Oh, I've known of this place ever since second year. The first year it took me a while, but at the end I managed to know about every secret passageway there is to know."

"Even without the map?"

"What map?"

At that Lorna took out the map and showed it to the brunette. The boy held back a chuckle.

"That's useful! Though it's missing some passages here and there." 

"Like this one?" Jack ventured.

"Yeah, it's not pointed out here. But these...And these..."

"We took the Honeydukes passage."

"Should've known. That's one of the few that isn't blocked."

"Or that the teachers don't know." Lorna added.

As the group continued to talk, Hiro wondered about the possibilities that the map could give. If what Mowgli said was true, there were some passages that weren't acknowledged by the map itself. If that was so, could the secret passages be added? He presumed they would, but that would certainly require more advanced magic than what the first year knew of.

"So, who were those guys you were talking about?"

Mowgli shrugged at Jack's question.

"You didn't notice them? These two weirdos in black in the plaza of Hogsmeade..." 

"Well I've seen some weirdos in...in Hogsmeade. But they were three, not two."

"Hum." The boy bit his lip. "They could be working together, but I'm not sure." 

"They were also dressed entirely in black."

"You don't say? ...Maybe they're aligned with the Ministry. Like the sea bitch."

"Who?"

"Madame Octi. The older kids call her that."

Vanellope looked on weirdly at the others, probably echoing the same thoughts they had. _Sea bitch? What does that she have to do with the sea?_

"Why that nickname?"

"Oh, it's because of some rumor we heard some time ago...Something to do with mermaids and such...And how she has a vendetta with them out of all the "hybrids" she hates so much."

The group continued walking the long trail, though it was less tenuous than the first trip. They had to ascend less, and the ground was less steeper and even to walk on. Hiro wondered where would they end up in; something told him it would end at the gardens or at Ralph's cottage at least.

"We're already here." The boy pointed upwards, and they spotted a small pair of stair ropes hanging on to a tunnel that lead up towards the exit. Now it would just be a thing of climbing up until they would find the entrance…

"I'll go first, and don't go out until I tell you, alright?" 

"Why?"

"The Whomping Willow is right outside the entrance and I wouldn't want you guys to get punched."

Oh! That explained everything, _of course._

"Huh, no wonder this entrance isn't in the map." Lorna murmured. Something about the situation seemed to put her in a gloomy mood.

Even so, the team followed his instructions and they climbed up the ropes. It was a short climb, since once they arrived at the end they awaited for Mowgli to finish his own business with the tree.

Once he finished, it led to the foursome leaving behind the dirt and the darkness to give entrance to the last bits of sunlight for the day. The Whomping Willow was resting peacefully at their side, as innocent as a fly.

"What did you do to calm the tree down?"

"Oh, it's just a thing of knowing how to treat the right branches." Mowgli vaguely shrugged.

"Well, that was fun." Lorna commented, turning from each kid to the next. "Thanks for helping us, Mowgli. If you feel like it, maybe you wanna hang out with us later on, for another time we go to Hogsmeade?"

"...Yeah, sure, that sounds fun!"

"Yeah, maybe you know what are the best candy to choose from Honeydukes!" Vanellope cracked.

They could've continued talking like this...If it wasn't for the screams that erupted from the inside of the castle.

"What was it!?"

"Somebody's getting killed!"

"Jack, don't say that!" Lorna's eyes widened. "It sounded more like a cry than anything."

The screams continued, alarming the group and other kids that were recently entering into the castle upon returning from Hogsmeade.

"We better go and check out what's happening."

–

All the students that were returning from the trip at Hogsmeade were alarmed by the cries, and soon they ran from the castle courtyard into the Entrance Hall, where all the commotion came from. They formed a circle around the noise and watched excitedly as the scene developed in front of them.

Squidward was the one screaming and crying at the top of his lungs, while Madame Otci sneered at him from the marble staircase.

"You had to see this coming, Mr. Tentacles. To put it simply, we believe that your methods of teaching are simply too banal for our students. They would be in much better hands with a much more capable teacher."

"B-but teaching is my life! It's all I've ever dreamed of! I can't return to the Krusty Krab with this…!"

"Then I suggest you do, since we do not desire your company anymore."

"I-I JUST WANNA PLAY MY CLARINET!" Squidward then curled into a ball and continued crying. Most of the students looked on alarmed at the scene, but they couldn't do anything about it. Squiward was unpleasant, to be sure, but firing him seemed to be an extreme reaction. And where were the other teachers in that moment? 

As if in queue, Professor Poppins and Miss Albero descended the staircase and entered into the scene.

"You cannot fire a teacher, Ursula. That is beyond your control! Only the headmaster..." Poppins began but the purple clad witch shut her up.

"Aah, but I'm in cohorts with the Ministry. And as such, we _do_ have the power to fire whoever we deem unworthy or not."

"That is madness. You cannot go against the rules of the school." Miss Albero noted as she tried to lift the sobbing Squidward from the ground, but to no avail.

"Who'll be the new Potions teacher? I hope it's not that bucktooth replacement guy, he was even dumber than Squidward." Peter heard MJ behind him whisper, and he recalled that weird replacement teacher they once had. Yeah, he was a dumbbell and no matter what, Squidward could never be replaced.

 _Now if Jafar had been fired..._ Of course, that was what everybody secretly wished. But he doubt that would ever happen. Which, by the way, he was curiously absent from this little commotion...Even the parrot seemed to be missing.

Suddenly the wide main doors opened, and two figures strutted into the entrance hall. Yen Sid and Norman Osborn walked down the hallways towards the crying figure of Squidward.

That was a surprising sight; not that Peter hadn't seen Harry's dad before in the school, but what gave him to come to the school the same day they had a Hogsmeade visit?

Osborn looked down on the Potions master and gave him a look of contempt.

"And to think I went to school with him..."

Peter heard a loud gasp behind him, and turned to see a surprised Harry, muttering under his breath.

"Dad...!"

"Oh, Mr. Osborn is soo handsome…" A girl's voice was heard muttering, and Peter turned to see a girl in sixth looking at the scene with a tender expression on her face.

 _Ookay, weird...I'll pretend I didn't hear that._

But Yen Sid's booming voice calmed the crowds.

"What is the meaning of this?"

They soon explained the situation to the headmaster, and his brow deepened.

"Nobody is getting fired. Mister Squidward is a valued member of our staff and he won't simply be left behind just because of some minor squabble."

"But..."

"I stand by my words. If you have any problem with it, Madame Octi, you shall talk to me in private."

He turned to Osborn and seemed to tell him something, but he spoke in such a soft whisper Peter couldn't tell what he said.

"Now, children, I presume you should all go back to your rooms to rest or finish with your homework for Monday."

Most of the students followed his councel, but Peter waited alongside Harry, who seemed determined to speak with his dad. Meanwhile, Yen Sid, Squidward and Madame Octi ascended the stairs after most of the students left.

Once most of the hall was emptied, Harry rushed up to his dad.

"Hi, dad! What are you doing here?"

His father looked down on him with those bright emerald eyes of his.

"I was simply asked by your headmaster for a visit, to talk about a certain matter at hand...But it seems it has to wait."

Norman Osborn strutted down the school hallways in search of the old headmaster, with his son and the gang following his footsteps.

"Nobody respects me around here."

"I respect you, dad!" 

"I don't want your respect!" Norman sneered. "Who wants respect from a kid anyway…"

And Harry looked sad. Peter looked on alarmed at the conversation between the two, thinking it would be better to change the subject. He cleared his throat and looked on at his best friend.

"Oh, dad...I've just wanted to present you, for a long time...my friends." He turned to Peter and the girls.

"Oh, Harry's spoken a lot about you. I'm delighted to meet you. So..."

The three quickly introduced themselves.

"I'm Gwen Stacy, nice to meet you."

"Peter Parker."

"Mary Jane Watson, greetings."

"Aaah. Parker and Stacy...The two most gifted and intelligent students in your year, am I correct?"

Gwen gave a short smile to Peter as he grinned sheepishly at him.

"Well, maybe not that much..."

"You seem adept, despite being muggle-born."

He didn't know why the comment bothered him so much, but it certainly did. What did he even mean by that?

 _Ooh, right. Muggle._ Some prejudices would never leave.

But MJ was quick at it.

"Well, that doesn't matter, anyway. If you're born with the magic, you're just apt at it, muggle parents or not." 

Osborn smiled thinly at her.

"True, that is right." He paused before turning to the left. "I have to speak with the Headmaster. Perhaps we'll see each other another day."

"...Sure, take care dad."

Osborn didn't reply to his son's words as he simply walked down the hallways.

Peter exchanged glances with MJ as Harry sighed. There was something really off about Norman Osborn...

–

Meanwhile, Hiro had met up with Tadashi's gang in the lab and they talked about the recent events with Squidward.

"So Squidward is not even an actual wizard?"

"No...Yes...More or less..."

"Apparently all I heard is that Squidward lived in an underwater kingdom, and Yen Sid spent one year searching for him, and another one asking for him to take the job."

"Wow, wish we could know more details about that. Now those would be some stories..."


End file.
